Growth Performance, Carcass Measurements and Organs Weight of Broiler Chickens Fed Cassava Copra Meal-based or Commercial Finisher Diets in Samoa

A three-week experiment was conducted to investigate the utilisation of a diet based on Cassava Root Meal (CRM) and copra meal by finishing broiler chickens. A total of (96) 21-day old Cobb broilers were used for the experiment. The birds were weighed and allotted to 6 pens containing 16 birds each. A finisher diet based on cassava and copra meal and a commercial broiler finisher diet were fed each to 3 randomly selected pens for a period of 21 days. Results showed poorer (p 0.05) by the diet. There were no treatment effects (p>0.05) on the weights of the liver, heart and ceaca, but birds on the test feed recorded higher (p<0.05) weights of the pancreas, gizzard and small intestine. Birds fed the control commercial feed deposited more (p<0.05) fat than those fed the test feed. It was concluded that cassava copra meal-based finisher diets could be used to reduce cost of meat production and carcass fat content and thus meat quality of broiler chickens. Further research into appropriate combinations of these ingredients for optimum growth and feed utilisation by broilers is recommended.