Growth performance of broilers fed diets containing dried rumen content and castor oil seed cake

Sky Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 5(7), pp. 146-153, October, 2016 Available online http://www.skyjournals.org/sjar ISSN 2315-8751 2016 Sky Journals Full Length Research Paper Growth performance of broilers fed diets containing dried rumen content and castor oil seed cake Colette N. T. N 1, Etchu K. A. 1, Fotsa J. C. 1, and Ndamukong K. J. N 2. 1 Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) Mankon, P.O. Box 125, Bamenda Cameroon. 2 University of Buea, Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science. Accepted 29 August, 2016 A study was carried out to investigate the effect of feeding non-conventional feedstuffs, dried rumen content (DRC) and castor oil seed cake (COSC), at different inclusion levels to broilers. A total of 528 one-week-old Abbo Acres broiler chicks were fed starter and finisher experimental diets for seven weeks in a 4 x 10 factorial experimental design. Each non-conventional feedstuff was mixed in the ration at 0, 5, 10 and 15% levels of inclusion and a mixture of the two at 0, 25, 50 and 75% inclusion levels. At 7 weeks of age, feed type and diet significantly (P < 0.05) influenced the body weight (BW) as birds fed the 5% DRC, 5% COSC, 15% COSC and the CNTRL registered significantly (P < 0.05) higher average body weights (1.73 ± 0.5 kg, 1.70 ± 0.5 kg, 1.68 ± 0.5 kg and 1.70 ± 0.3 kg) respectively while those fed the 50% and 75% MXT registered significantly (P < 0.001) lower average body weights (0.96 ± 0.5 kg and 0.79±0.7kg) respectively. Feed efficiency (FE) of the birds, especially the birds fed the 50% (BW = 0.96 ± 0.5kg; FE = 3.48) and 75% (BW = 0.79 ± 0.7 kg; FE = 2.80) mixture were negatively depressed. Generally throughout the study period, birds fed the mixture at 50% and 75% recorded very low average body weights, while those fed the 5% DRC, 5% COSC and 25% MXT registered high average body weights. The best carcass yield was from birds fed the control (72.5 ± 1.04%), 5% DRC (73.2 ± 1.5%) and 15% DRC (72.1 ± 1.39) and birds fed the 10% DRC and 50% MXT had zero fat deposits. Inclusion of dried rumen content and castor oil seed cake significantly improved the performance with reduced cost of feed per kilogram weight gain over the control. Key words: Broiler chicken, performance, non-conventional feed stuff, carcass, cost. INTRODUCTION Consumption of livestock and livestock products in the developing countries, though starting from a low base, is growing rapidly. From the strategic document of growth and employment initiated by Cameroon, agriculture and livestock are the mainstay of the economy, engaging over 60% of the active population and accounting for close to 50% of the country s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (ROC, 2010). Cameroon s ultimate goal is to ensure sustainable and effective improvement in the living conditions of the population by tackling the root causes of *Corresponding author. E-mail: nncollect@yahoo.com. poverty (ROC, 2010). Over the past 25 years, Cameroon had been importing significant quantities of food, especially poultry, because local producers could only produce 25,000 tons of poultry meat (Pingpoh, 2007; COMINSUD, 2011). However, the consumption of chicken is according to the norms and culture of every tradition. Chicken meat represents an important segment of the consumption structure of various meat types as it is one of the favorites (Vukasovic, 2011). Not only has it been described as tasty, it is also a food that corresponds to the requirements of modern and balanced nutrition. In addition, it is quick and easy to prepare, healthy, safe and nourishing (Vukasovic, 2011). In a bit to give more

Colette et al. 147 Table 1. Proximate analysis of castor oil seed cake and dried rumen contents. Constituents Castor oil seed cake Dried rumen contents Dry matter (dm) (%) Ash (%) Ether extract (ee) (%) Crude fibre (cp) (%) Crude protein (cp) (%) Energy (me, kcal/kg) 90.36 09.29 43.01 57.8 24.23 1150 92.44 09.25 07.81 41.84 15.21 1435 credence to chicken meat, consumers perceive poultry meat as tasty (eating enjoyment), high quality, healthy, cheap and protein-rich source (Sismanoglou and Tzimitra, 2011). Since it is easy to prepare and suitable for picnics and social gatherings, it represents a very popular type of meat. Feed accounts for the biggest input cost for commercial poultry production (between 60 80% of total cost) (Rashid, 2004). Successful broiler production is dependent upon supplying the birds with feed of the highest achievable quality, in terms of ingredients used, processing procedures applied and the form in which the feed is presented to the bird. Livestock industries usually formulate feeds from materials that are either edible or inedible by man. These feeds, when ingested by the animals, enhance the animal productivity in terms of number and nutrient quality, to meet most of the immediate nutrient requirements of man (Omenka and Anyasor, 2010). This study was therefore carried out to evaluate the performance of broiler birds, carcass yield and the economics of production on some non-conventional feed stuffs notably dried rumen content and castor oil seed cake. MATERIALS AND METHODS Area of study This work was carried out at the Mankon specialized station of the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD). It is located at an altitude of 1,400 m above sea level. Temperatures vary between 18 and 31 C, with a relative humidity of about 80%. The rainy season covers 8 months and runs from mid-march to mid-november, with a short dry season of 4 months. Feed. The rumen content of cattle was collected from the Municipal Abattoir in Bamenda and was sundried at IRAD Mankon research station on local drying material (bamboo mats) raised at 1.5 m from the ground to minimize moisture content to less than 4%. The sundried material was milled using a hammer mill to produce finely ground dried rumen content meal. The cake was collected from the castor oil producing areas of the North West Region, particularly in Fundong and Njinikom. It was sundried at Mankon Research Station premises and ground using a hammer mill to produce finely ground meal to ease consumption by the birds. Samples of each material was subjected to proximate analysis for the nutrient content together with samples of experimental diets at the Biochemistry and Nutrition laboratory of Mankon Research Station using the procedure described by Association of Official Analytical Chemists (A.O.A.C., 2000). Feed ingredients were purchased and ground using a feed mill grinder and feed compounded on the floor to ensure thorough mixing of minute ingredients. Feed was weighed and given to the birds during the course of the week. At the end of each week, the birds and left over feed were weighed using the OHAUS electronic scale (Model Champ 11, Ohaus Corporation, and Florham Park, NJ, USA of 1g to 60kg capacity, made in China) for growth and feed consumed during each week. Based on the results obtained and information from literature, broiler starter and finisher rations were formulated at 0, 5, 10 and15% inclusion levels. The proximate analysis of castor oil seed cake and dried rumen contents is shown in Table 1. Animals A total of 528 day-old Arbor Acres commercial broiler chicks were procured from a local hatchery. The chicks were reared in open sided broiler houses, which had been cleaned, disinfected and kept for this purpose for a period of two weeks. They were reared in deep litter system using wood shavings as litter material. The brooder temperature was between 37-38 o C for the first two weeks. During this period they were fed a commercial starter ration with 20% crude. Protein and 2800 Kcal metabolisable energy. Clean water was provided ad libitum and a standard prophylactic programme practiced on station was strictly and systematically followed. Experimental design For both the rumen contents and castor oil seed cake, there were 40 birds per treatment in four replicates of 10

148 Sky. J. Agric. Res. Table 2. Percentage composition of experimental diets. INGREDIENTDried rumen content Castor oil seed cake castor oil X dried FEED rumen Starter feed S 0, 5, 10 and 15% 0, 5, 10 and 15% 75 x 25%, 50 x 50%, 25 X 75% Finisher 0, 5, 10 and 15% 0, 5, 10 and 15% 75 x 25%, 50 x 50%, 25 X 75% Table 3. Broiler starter with dried rumen content (DRC). Diet composition Items CNTRL 0% DRC 5% DRC 10% DRC 15% Maize 55 53 53 53 DRC 0 5 10 15 PKC 7.5 6 1 0.5 SBM 25 25 25 23 FM 8 6.5 6.5 6 BM 3.5 3.5 3.5 1.5 B/VMPREMIX 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 LYS 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 METH 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 Salt 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 Total 100 100 100 100 ME 2870 2881 2872 2854 CP 23.9 23.2 23.1 23.1 CF 4.2 5.6 7.1 8.7 LYS 1.61 1.53 1.49 1.45 METH +CYS 0.69 0.65 0.64 0.63 Ca 2+ 1.32 1.24 1.23 0.77 P 3-0.26 0.22 0.22 0.23 DRC: Dried Rumen Content, PKC: Palm Kernel Cake, SBM: Soya Bean Meal, FM: Fish Meal, BM: Bone Meal, B/VMPREMIX: Broiler Vitamin Premix, LYS: Lysine, METH+CYS: Methionine + Cysteine, ME: Metabolisable Energy, CP: Crude protein, CF: Crude Fibre, Ca 2+ : Calcium, P 3- : Phosphorus Note: All figures are expressed as percentages except for metabolisable energy which is in Kcal/kg. birds each for four treatments per feed type for the starter and finisher phases. Also, an effect of their interaction was studied. The experimental design was a 4 x 10 factorial design with four types of ingredients as treatment factor and different levels of inclusion of these ingredients in the diets as type of ration s factor. The interaction was done in this manner: the castor oil seed cake was considered as the base and then dried rumen content replaced the castor oil seed cake at 25, 50 and 75% levels. The starter phase ran for the first four weeks and the finisher phase for the last three weeks, giving a total of seven weeks for the two trials as they were carried out consecutively. For the above paragraph, there were three experiments that were carried out simultaneously: Experiment 1: dried rumen content was fed at 0, 5, 10 and 15% levels of inclusion for both the starter and finisher diets. Experiment 2: Castor oil seed cake was fed at 0, 5, 10 and 15% levels of inclusion for both the starter and finisher diets. Experiment 3: the castor oil seed cake and dried rumen content was mixed together in the feed at the ratio of castor oil is to dried rumen content respectively at: 25 : 75%, 50 : 50% and 75 : 25% for both the starter and finisher rations. Details are shown in table in Table 2. Broiler starter and finisher feeds were formulated using the above mentioned ingredients and quantities as can be seen in Tables 3 to 8. Data collected The following parameters were measured during the growth period: Feed intake, growth rate, mortality.

Colette et al. 149 Table 4. Broiler finisher with dried rumen content (DRC). ITEMS CNTRL 0% DRC 5% DRC 10% DRC 15% Maize 59 56 59 59 DRC 0 5 10 15 PKC 15.5 12 4.5 0.5 SBM 16 16 16 16 FM 5 6.5 6 5 BM 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 B/VMPREMIX 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 LYS 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 METH 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 SALT 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 TOTAL 100 100 100 100 ME 2835 2812 2848 2870 CP 20.6 20.7 20.4 20.3 CF 4.8 5.8 7.1 8.7 LYS 1.34 1.33 1.27 1.24 METH 0.63 0.62 0.60 0.59 Ca 2+ 1.22 1.24 1.19 1.18 P 3-0.21 0.22 0.20 0.20 DRC: Dried Rumen Content, PKC: Palm Kernel Cake, SBM: Soya Bean Meal, FM: Fish Meal, BM: Bone Meal, B/VMPREMIX: Broiler Vitamin Premix, LYS: Lysine, METH+CYS: Methionine + Cysteine, ME: Metabolisable Energy, CP: Crude protein, CF: Crude Fibre, Ca 2+ : Calcium, P 3- : Phosphorus. Note: All figures are expressed as percentages except for metabolisable energy which is in Kcal/kg. Table 5. Broiler starter with castor oil seed cake (COSC). ITEMS CNTRL0% COSC 5% COSC 10% COSC 15% MAIZE 50 49 47 47 GNC 14 14 14 11 SBM 11 11 11 9 COSC 0 5 10 15 FM 5.5 5.5 12 6 RB 6.5 5 0.5 1 PKC 7.7 4.7 1 3 SS 2 2 1 2 BM 1 1 1 1.5 PO 0.5 1 0 2 B/VMPREMIX 1 1 1 1 SALT 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 LYS 0.15 0.15 0.5 0.5 METH 0.15 0.15 0.5 0.5 Total 100 100 100 100 ME 2858 2859 2862 2806 CP 23.2 23.2 23.3 23.1 CF 4.2 6.6 8.4 11.3 LYS 1.22 1.24 1.91 1.57 METH 0.54 0.57 0.78 0.98 Ca 2+ 1.05 1.09 1.06 1.31 P 3-0.38 0.43 0.63 0.59 COSC: Castor Oil Seed Cake, PKC: Palm Kernel Cake, SBM: Soya Bean Meal, FM: Fish Meal, BM: Bone Meal, RB: Rice Bran, GNC: Groundnut Cake, PO: Palm Oil, SS: Sea Shell, B/VMPREMIX: Broiler Vitamin Premix, LYS: Lysine, METH+CYS: Methionine + Cysteine, ME: Metabolisable Energy, CP: Crude protein, CF: Crude Fibre, Ca 2+ : Calcium, P 3- : Phosphorus Note: All figures are expressed as percentages except for metabolisable energy which is in Kcal/kg

150 Sky. J. Agric. Res. Table 6. Broiler finisher with castor oil seed cake (COSC). ITEMS CNTRL0% COSC 5% COSC10% COSC 15% MAIZE 47 48.5 48.5 48.5 GNC 10 10 10 10 SBM 12 12 8 8 COSC 0 5 10 15 FM 3 3 3.5 3 RB 14 8.95 7.25 5 PKC 6.7 5 6 5 SS 2.5 2 1.5 1 BM 2.5 2 1.5 1 PO 1.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 B/VMPREMIX 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 SALT 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.25 LYS 0.15 0.15 0.25 0.25 METH 0.15 0.15 0.25 0.25 Total 100 100 100 100 ME 2806 2879 2837 2818 CP 20.7 20.3 20.1 20.5 CF 4.8 6.8 9.4 11.9 LYS 1.06 1.09 1.15 1.16 METH 0.47 0.51 0.65 0.68 Ca 2+ 1.57 1.33 1.08 0.83 P 3-0.47 0.47 0.47 0.45 COSC: Castor Oil Seed Cake, PKC: Palm Kernel Cake, SBM: Soya Bean Meal, FM: Fish Meal, BM: Bone Meal, RB: Rice Bran, GNC: Groundnut Cake, PO: Palm Oil, SS: Sea Shell, B/VMPREMIX: Broiler Vitamin Premix, LYS: Lysine, METH+CYS: Methionine + Cysteine, ME: Metabolisable Energy, CP: Crude protein, CF: Crude Fibre, Ca 2+ : Calcium, P 3- : Phosphorus. Note: All figures are expressed as percentages except for metabolisable energy which is in Kcal/kg Data analysis Data collected was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) for quantitative (continuous variables) data, using GLM of SAS (2000). Discrete data (mortality) was compared using the chi square test. For growth, the mathematical model used was as follows: Y ijk = µ + α i + β j + αβ ij + ε ijk µ: Overall mean α i : Mean effect of treatment ( i = 1,2,3,4 feed type) β j : Mean effect of ration (j = 1, 2,3,4 10) αβ: 1 st degree interaction ε ijk : error A similar model was employed for the carcass analysis, but with the introduction of a sex factor. Least square means were compared in pairs using the Student t test (PDTFP) of the GLM of SAS (2001). Carcass analysis At the end of the seven weeks study period, four birds were randomly selected from each treatment group, two cocks and two hens each, giving a total of 40 birds. They were weighed and fasted for 24 h. They were weighed and slaughtered following the method described by Fotsa et al. (2001). The carcasses were then weighed and dipped in hot water at boiling point to ease plucking of feathers. They were then labeled and frozen in a deep freezer for 48 h. The freezer was unplugged and the carcasses allowed to defrost for 10 h after which they were eviscerated. The head was cut at the level of the occipital bone and the neck at the level of the last vertebra, weighed and recorded. Organs including the heart, liver and gizzard, fat deposited in the abdomen and around the gizzard were taken out and weighed using an electronic scale. RESULTS At the end of week seven, birds fed the 5% DRC, 5% COSC, 15% COSC and the CNTRL registered significantly (P < 0.05) higher average body weights (1.73±0.5kg, 1.70 ± 0.5kg, 1.68 ± 0.5kg and 1.70 ± 0.3kg respectively) while those fed the 50% and 75% MXT

Colette et al. 151 Table 7. Broiler starter with castor oil seed cake and dried rumen content (COSC + DRC). Items MXT 25 %( C 5% + R 15%) MXT 50% (C 10% + R 10%) MXT 75% (C 15% + R 5%) MAIZE 45 46 45 GNC 12.2 13 12 SBM 10 9 10 COSC 15 10 05 DRC 05 10 15 FM 07 07 07 RB 01 1 1 PKC 01 1 1 BM 01 0.5 1 PO 01 1 1 B/VMPREMIX 01 1 1 SALT 0.5 0.25 0.25 LYS 0.15 0.15 0.15 METH 0.15 0.15 0.15 Total 100 100 100 ME 2868 2864 2804 CP 23.1 23.0 23.7 CF 13.5 12.6 11.8 LYS 1.51 1.51 1.56 METH 0.76 0.77 0.78 Ca 2+ 0.73 0.60 0.73 P 3-0.66 0.65 0.71 COSC: Castor Oil Seed Cake, DRC: Dried Rumen Content PKC: Palm Kernel Cake, SBM: Soya Bean Meal, FM: Fish Meal, BM: Bone Meal, RB: Rice Bran, GNC: Groundnut Cake, PO: Palm Oil, SS: Sea Shell, B/VMPREMIX: Broiler Vitamin Premix, LYS: Lysine, METH+CYS: Methionine + Cysteine, ME: Metabolisable Energy, CP: Crude protein, CF: Crude Fibre, Ca 2+ : Calcium, P 3- : Phosphorus. Note: All figures are expressed as percentages except for metabolisable energy which is in Kcal/kg. Table 8. Broiler finisher with castor oil seed cake and dried rumen content (COSC + DRC). ITEMS MXT 25% (C 5% + R 15%) MXT 50% (C 10% + R 10%) MXT 75 %( C 15% + R 5%) Maize 48.5 49 49 GNC 10 10 10 SBM 09 10 10 COSC 15 10 5 DRC 5 10 15 FM 06 06 06 RICE BRAN 1 1 1 PKC 0.5 01 0.5 SBM 0.5 0.5 0.5 PO 3 01 02 B/VMPREMIX 0.5 0.5 0.5 SALT 0.25 0.25 0.25 LYS 0.15 0.15 0.15 METH 0.15 0.15 0.15 Total 100 100 100 ME 2806 2816 2816 CP 20.2 20.2 20.2 CF 13.3 12.5 11.7 LYS 1.40 1.39 1.39 METH 0.73 0.73 0.73 Ca 2+ 0.60 0.59 0.71 P 3-0.58 0.58 0.64 COSC: Castor Oil Seed Cake, DRC: Dried Rumen Content PKC: Palm Kernel Cake, SBM: Soya Bean Meal, FM: Fish Meal, BM: Bone Meal, RB: Rice Bran, GNC: Groundnut Cake, PO: Palm Oil, SS: Sea Shell, B/VMPREMIX: Broiler Vitamin Premix, LYS: Lysine, METH+CYS: Methionine + Cysteine, ME: Metabolisable Energy, CP: Crude protein, CF: Crude Fibre, Ca 2+ : Calcium, P 3- : Phosphorus. Note: All figures are expressed as percentages except for metabolisable energy which is in Kcal/kg

152 Sky. J. Agric. Res. Table 9. Productive performance of broiler birds fed diets containing DRC, COSC and MXT at 7 weeks of age. Feed type Ration Av. Body wt in Kg Carcass yield Feed Male Female efficiency Production cost CNTRL 0% 1.70±0.3 a ** 71.4 ± 1.78 b 72.5 ± 1.04 a 3.32±0.8 ab 2074±6.3 DRC 5% 1.73±0.5 a** 73.2 ± 1.52 a 69.8 ± 3.12 b 3.47±1.1 ab 1989±6.3 10% 1.45±0.5 b 70.1 ± 0.55 b 70.7 ± 1.05 a 4.75±1.1 ab 1929±6.3 15% 1.42±0.5 b 70.7 ± 0.03 b 72.1 ± 1.39 a 4.09±1.0 ab 1739±6.3 COSC 5% 1.70±0.5 a ** 69.1 ± 0.55 b 70.0 ±0.99 b 4.43±1.0 ab 1922±6.3 10% 1.56±0.5 ab 69.2 ± 1.32 a 69.5 ± 0.09 a 7.95±1.0 a * 2052±6.3 15% 1.68±0.5 a** 66.0 ± 2.82 a 65.5 ± 5.64 b 2.75±1.1 b 1934±6.3 MXT 25% 1.44±0.5 b *** 71.0 ± 0.37 b 72.0 ± 0.60 a 4.20±1.0 ab 1971±6.3 50% 0.96±0.5 c *** 69.0 ± 2.61 a 68.2 ± 1.51 b 3.48±1.1 ab 1615±6.3 75% 0.79±0.7 d *** 66.1 ± 0.12 b 67.1 ± 4.64 b 2.80±1.0 b 1650±6.3 a,b,c means in the same row with the same superscript are not significantly different (P 0.05) CNTRL: Control, MXT: Mixture, TRT: Treatment, RAT: Ration, M: Male, F: Female *: P<0.05 **: P<0.001 ***: P<0.0001 registered significantly (P<0.001) lower average body weights (0.96 ± 0.5kg and 0.79±0.7kg respectively). Generally throughout the study period, birds fed the mixture at 50% and 75% recorded very low average body weights, while those fed the 5% DRC, 5% COSC and 25% MXT registered high average body weights. At 7 weeks, it was observed that birds fed the 10 % COSC had a significantly (P < 0.05) high value (7.95 ± 1.0). For carcass yield, birds fed 5% DRC gave the best results (73.2±1.52 %), followed by birds fed the control (72.5±1.04 %) and 15% DRC (72.1±1.3 %) rations (Table 9) DISCUSSION High weight gain of animals normally results from increased feed intake. It was, however, observed in this experiment that those animals that consumed more feed had a lower weight gain, especially those on diets containing the non-conventional feed ingredients. The performance of the birds on the non-conventional diets closely followed the performance of those on the control diet. The good performance of the birds on the nonconventional diets could be due to adequate dietary fibre content which activates the intestines with more peristaltic movements and production of more enzymes, resulting in efficient digestion of nutrients (Esonu et al., 2006). The chemical composition of the non-conventional feedstuffs revealed that these were highly fibrous and contributed to the high feed intake of the birds subjected to these rations. It should be noted that voluntary feed intake increases with increased fibre intake in an attempt to satisfy energy requirements. Feed intake increased with level of inclusion. With a highly fibrous meal, the gut transit time is reduced and thus, the bird has little time to absorb all the nutrients from the food in the digestive tract. So birds must eat to make up their energy requirement as feed has been diluted by high fibre content, thus the reason for the increased feed consumption of the unconventional feedstuffs. This agrees with earlier findings by Esonu et al. (2006) who observed that there was increased feed intake of birds on diets containing dried rumen digesta, which is highly fibrous. It can easily be seen that this type of feed with the mixture is not well digested by the birds and thus lead to high values of feed efficiency. From these findings, it was evident that the experimental birds supported the high fibre content of the feed for some weeks but could not later. At 7 weeks of age, the birds consumed well and most of them had very large crops and some even died suddenly with this condition. This may be due to anti-nutrition factors, which is the case with most of the nonconventional feedstuffs (Frederick, 2010). The best feed efficiency was attained in birds on the control diet and was responsible for the greater weight gain observed in birds fed this diet. Broiler birds will perform well on diets formulated with these non-conventional ingredients, especially as it was observed in this study that weight gain was progressive to the end, and though feed efficiency was poor as the birds aged, results showed that the birds did not need to be exposed to these ingredients for over a long period of time. The various dietary treatments imposed on the birds had a significant impact on the weights of the various organs examined during the carcass analysis. The control diet was superior to the other diets as concerns weight gain, which was normal, as it was the standard feed. Diets with inclusion of non-conventional feed ingredients also performed closely to the control. Chickens with more feathers were not effectively converting the feed to muscle, and as the birds needed warmth, they had to resort to feather growing, and thus

Colette et al. 153 the poor carcass yields. Considering the high fibre content of the feed, the gizzard as the grinding machine in the bird s digestive system had to build up more muscles to be apt to perform its functions since generally it is not adapted to high fibre diet Svihus (2011) also found out that there was a rapid and conspicuous enlargement in size of the gizzard when structural components such as hulls, wood shavings or large cereal particles were included in the diet. As regards per unit production cost, more financial savings were made from the MXT but the birds did not grow well. Regarding per unit cost of production using DRC as ingredient, the financial savings made were great and the birds performed close to those on the control diet. As regards per unit production cost, more financial savings were made from the MXT but the birds did not grow well. Regarding per unit cost of production using DRC as ingredient, the financial savings made were great and the birds performed close to those on the control diet. There was reduction in feed cost using COSC but this reduction was less than that for DRC and the birds performance also dropped compared to that of DRC. High mortality rate was registered within the first four weeks of the trial. Post-mortem results indicated digestive obstruction at the entry into and exit of the gizzard. This can probably be explained by the fact that chickens were still too young to digest high fibre diet since the mortality dropped drastically as birds were getting older. Further studies are required to elucidate this. adequate food in Cameroon. The second and third periodic report (Art. 1 15) of Cameroon to the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (UN DOC. E/c.12/CMR/2-3). Esonu BO, Ogbonna UD, Anyanwi GA, Emenalom OO, Uchegbu MC, Fotsa JC, Merrat P, Bordas A (2001). Effect of the slow (K) or rapid (k+) feathering gene on body and feather growth and fatness according to ambient temperature in a Leghorn x Brown egg type cross. Genetic Selection and Evolution, 33: 659 670. Frederick N (2010). Effects of moringer leaf meal (MOLM) on nutrient digestibility, growth, carcass and blood indices of weaner rabbits. MSc thesis, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, 107 pp. Omenka RO, Anyasor GN (2010). Vegetable based feed formulation on poultry meat quality. AJFAND, 10 (1): 2001-2011. Pingoh DP (2007). Extent and impact of food import surges in developing countries: The case of poultry meat in Cameroon, Pro poor development in low income countries: Food and Agriculture, trade and environment, 25 27 Oct. 2007. Poster presentation at the 106 th seminar on the EAAE, 16pp. Montpellier France. Rashid M (2004). CTA Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Co operation.. Post bus 380,670A J. Wageningen, the Netherlands; 34pp. Republic of Cameroon (ROC). (2010). Poverty reduction strategy paper. International Monetary Fund, IMF, Country report No. 10/257. SAS Institute (2004). SAS user s guide. Statistic, version 9.0. Statistic Institute Inc. Cary, North Carolina, USA. Sismanoglou A, Tzimitra KI (2011). Consumer perception of poultry meat in Greece. World s Poultry Sci. J., 67(2): 269-276. Svihus B (2011). The gizzard: function, influence of diet structure and effects of nutrient availability. World s Poultry Sci. Assoc., 67 (2): 207 223. Vukasovic T (2011). The importance of national chicken meat origin in Central and South Eastern Europe. World s Poultry Sci. J., 67(2): 237-242. Conclusion The use of DRC and castor oil seed cake in broiler diets will lead to a good growth performance, better carcass yield and a reduction in the production cost of chicken production. The poultry farmer will make more savings and many more families will have access to chicken meat. There will be improvement in quality of meat eaten as the meat from this has little or no fat deposits, which will be greatly cherished by consumers, and consequently, better health for the consumers. REFERENCES Association of Official Analytical Chemist (A.O.A.C) (2000). Official methods of analysis, 17th edition, Washington DC. Community Initiative for Sustainable Development (2011). The right to