Effect of different oils supplementation on broiler chicken performance

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the coconut-, sunflower-and palm-oil feeding on the performance of broiler chicken. Coconut oil, palm oil and sunflower oil were included in the diet of 14 d old Cobb 500 sexed cocks. Birds (n=245) were divided into five feeding groups: the first group was fed a standard broiler grower diet as a control (CON); the odier four groups were fed the same CON diet but supplemented with different oil sources, i.e. 5% coconut oil (CO), 5% palm oil (PO), 2, 5% each of both coconut and palm oil (COPO), and 5% sunflower oil (SO). Average weight was between 316 and 320 g (CON 316±46 g, CO 316±38 g, PO 318±37 g, COPO 320±37 g, SO 319±44 g). Live BW and feed consumption were measured weekly. The weight gain and feed conversion ratio were calculated. The results indicated no significant (P>0.05) difference in the treatment groups compared to the control. Altogether, no beneficial effect of oil supplementation was revealed in the experiment as the higher feed consumption could not enhance the weight gain of the chickens. In conclusion, as feed consumption was the highest when palm oil was added to the CON diet, it was thought to have a stimulating effect on the feed intake. However, the higher intake could not be converted to higher production performance, as the weight of the birds in the different groups were more or less the same.