PERFORMANCE AND COST BENEFITS OF USING RICE BRAN IN BROILER CHICKENS DIETS

Abstract

There is currently a continuous increase in prices and scarcity of conventional feed ingredients used in poultry feed production. Wheat offal has remained the chief fiber source in poultry diets. The demand for wheat offal as conventional fiber source by the poultry feed millers coupled with its low production locally has placed additional constraints on its continual use in poultry diets. This research was therefore conducted to evaluate the performance and cost benefits of broiler chickens fed dietary levels of rice bran at the Poultry Research Unit of Bauchi State College of Agriculture, Bauchi. Three experimental diets were formulated at both starter (23%,cp) and finisher (20%,cp) phases. Rice bran was included at 0, 50 and 100% coded as diets 1, 2, and 3 respectively. One hundred and twenty unsexed Anak broiler chicken strain were used. The birds were brooded for seven days during which commercial broiler starter diet was fed to them. Feed and water were given adlibitum. After a week brooding period, they were randomly alloted to the three dietary treatments,
each treatment was replicated four times with ten birds per replicate in completely randomized design. Performance parameters measured at the starter and finisher phases were not significantly affected (P>0.05) by the dietary levels of rice bran. Feed cost in (N) per kg diet, per bird and per kg gain were decreasing with an increasing level of rice bran with birds fed 100% rice bran found to be cheaper. High cost saving (N 39.86. 00) and percent cost saving 10.6% were also observed with birds fed diet three 100% rice bran. It is therefore concluded that rice bran is a suitable alternative to
wheat offals as fiber source in broiler chickens diet with concomitant reduction in feed cost.