Author : Alao, Simplicio J.Jr.

Summary : A total of 600-old commercial broiler chicks and 120 nine-month old commercial strain of S.C. White Leghorn pullets served as the experimental birds in two feeding trials conducted to determine the effects of diets with different kinds (crude, acidulated, refined) and levels (2,4,6 percent) of coconut oil on the performance of broilers and layers. The diets were formulated by adjusting the levels of corn, rice bran, and copra meal with increasing level of dietary oil to make them isonitrogenous and isocaloric. The birds were randomly assigned to different dietary treatments in a 3 x 3 factorial arrangement in completely randomized design (CRD). A group of birds fed diets without oil served as the control. Results from the broiler and layer feeding trials showed that there was no significant interaction between the type and level of coconut oil in all the parameters measured. Except for feed efficiency, the kind of oil in the diet did not significantly influence body weight gain, feed consumption, and dressing percentage of the broilers. Increased level of oil in the diets from 2 to 6 percent supported significant increase in body weight gain and improved the efficiency of feed utilization of the broilers. On the other hand, the type of oil significantly affected the egg production and feed efficiency of the birds but not the feed consumption, egg weight, and egg yolk color of pullets. Regardless of the type of oil, increased level of oil in the diets from 2 to 6 percent significantly improved the feed utilization of pullets. Broilers fed with diets that contained refined oil yielded the highest income-over-feed-costs, followed by birds fed with acidulated oil and with crude oil. In contrast, pullets fed with diets containing acidulated oil supported the highest income-over-feed-costs, followed closely by those fed with diets containing refined and crude oil in decreasing order.