Exploring Rice Bran and Cassava Peel as Alternative Feed Ingredients in Poultry Production in Jigawa State, Nigeria

This study evaluated the nutritional composition of rice bran and detoxified cassava peel and examined the effects of their graded inclusion as substitutes for conventional feed ingredients on growth performance, carcass traits, nutrient digestibility, and economic efficiency of broiler chickens in Jigawa State, Northwest Nigeria. A total of 200-day-old broiler chicks were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments in a completely randomized design, with three replicates per treatment. The dietary treatments included a control diet (T₁) based on maize and soybean meal and three experimental diets (T₂–T₄) in which maize and soybean meal were partially replaced with a combined rice bran and cassava peel meal at 10%, 20%, and 30% inclusion levels, respectively. Rice bran was rich in crude protein, ether extract, metabolizable energy, and micronutrients, whereas cassava peel contained higher crude fibre and carbohydrate fractions. Growth performance parameters measured included body weight, average daily gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio, along with carcass yield, internal organ weights, nutrient digestibility, and feed cost per kilogram weight gain. Broilers fed the 20% inclusion diet achieved growth performance and feed conversion ratios comparable to the control group (p > 0.05), while the 30% inclusion level significantly reduced performance (p < 0.05), likely due to higher dietary fibre and lower digestibility. Carcass yield and organ health were not adversely affected. Digestibility coefficients slightly declined with increasing inclusion levels. Economic analysis revealed a reduction in feed cost per kilogram gain, with the 20% inclusion diet offering the most favourable cost–benefit outcome. The study concludes that rice bran and detoxified cassava peel possess complementary nutritional qualities and can be incorporated at moderate levels as low-cost feed substitutes, enhancing feed sustainability and profitability for smallholder poultry producers in Jigawa State and similar agroecological zones.

Rice bran, cassava peel, broiler performance

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