Nutritional aspects of broiler production in small-holder farms in Cameroon

摘要

SurveysintheareasofDoualaandWesternHighlandsofCameroonwerecarriedoutinordertoquantifytheefficiencyofbroilermeatproduction.Atotalof20small-holderfarmswereincludedinthesurvey,theflocksizeonthefarmsrangingfrom102to3060birds.On8farmscommercialfeedwasusedandontheotherfarmsthedietswerepreparedusinglocallyavailablefeedstuffsandcommercialconcentratescontaininganimalprotein,vitamins,mineralsandtraceelements.Thechickswereobtainedfromlocalhatcheriesattheageofoneday.Liveweightof49-daysoldbroilersgroupedaccordingtotypeoffeedrangedfrom1.33to2.06kg.Thefeedconversionratio(kgfeedintake/kgweightgain)forthe49-dayfeedingperiodrangedfrom1.58to2.44.Mortalityrangedfrom2.3to16.3%.ItisconcludedthatbroilerproductioninCameroonischaracterizedbypoorgrowthandlowefficiencyoffeedutilization.Onereasonforthepoorproductivityistheuseoflowqualityfeedingredientsinasituationwherethebroilerindustryhastoexpandinordertosatisfythemeatdemandbyanincreasinghumanpopulationwhilebeinginasituationofmaizeshortageandprohibiteduseofmeatmeals.Theobjectiveofpresentandfutureresearchthereforeshouldbetofindandtestlocallyavailable,safe,nutritionallyadequateandcheapsubstitutesformaizeandmeatmealinbroilerfeeding.