Palm kernel cake as a broiler feed ingredient

A total of 600 Bosbek day-old broiler chicks (Akropong Farms, Kumasi, Ghana) were randomly allotted to six dietary treatments containing 0, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15% palm kernel cake (PKC), respectively. All diets were isoproteinaceous (21% crude protein). The addition of PKC had no significant influence on feed consumption and body weight (P less than .05) up to 8 wk of age. Feed conversion efficiency, in contrast, significantly (P less than .05) declined as PKC levels reached 12.5% of the diet or higher. Mean feed conversion efficiency values were 2.74, 2.85, 2.85, 2.89, 3.14, and 3.21, respectively, for birds fed 0, 5, 7, 5, 10, 12.5, and 15% PKC. The use of PKC considerably reduced feed costs, but profit over production costs nevertheless favored the control diet containing no PKC.