Performance and Organ Weights of Laying Hens Fed Diets Containing Graded Levels of Sun-dried Cocoa Bean Shell (CBS)

Abstract

Response of laying hens fed different levels of cocoa bean shell (CBS) was investigated using eighty 18-weeks old shaver Brown pullets in a six weeks feeding trial. Five rations were formulated by addition of 0, 15, 20, 25 and 30% cocoa bean shell and allocated to five groups of bird (16 birds/group) in a completely randomized design of experiment. Each group was further subdivided into eight replicates of 2 birds per replicate. The control diet was a maize-soybean meal based diet formulated to meet the nutrient requirement of a laying bird with no sun-dried cocoa bean shell (CBS), diets 2, 3, 4 and 5 contained 15, 20, 25 and 30 percent sun-dried cocoa been shell, respectively. Compared with the control diet, average daily feed intake (ADFI), egg production per bird per week as well as percent hen day production (HDP, %) were lower in diet 2 (15% CBS) (P 0.05). However, the weights of the spleen, kidney and ovary were depressed in birds fed diets 4 (25%) and 5 (30%) compared with those that received the control diet (P<0.05). The weights of the liver, spleen, kidney and ovary were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by addition of sun-dried CBS. It was concluded that cocoa been shell cannot be included in the layers diet up to 15%, a lower level might be tolerated.