Neem (Azadirachta indica) Seed Cake in the Diets of Cockerel Chickens

The response of cockerel chickens fed graded levels of untreated and treated neem seed cake as partial replacement of Soya Bean Meal (SBM) was investigated. A total of 180 cockerels were subjected to an 8 week feeding trial in a 3x2 factorial design. There were 6 dietary treatments: diets 1 and 2 contained Untreated Neem Seed Cake (UNSC) at 10 and 20%, diets 3 and 4 contained Water Soaked Neem Seed Cake (WNSC) at 10 and 20% levels while diets 5 and 6 contained Charcoal supplemented Neem Seed Cake (CNSC) at 10 and 20% each replacing soyabean meal. The charcoal in diets 5 and 6 was added at a dose of 4 kg/tonne of feed. Results obtained showed that Feed Intake (FI), Body Weight Gain (BWG) and Feed Cost per kilogram Weight Gain (FCWG) were significantly different (p 0.05) among dietary treatments. It is concluded that treated neem seedcake may replace part of SBM used in the diet of cockerel chickens at the levels studied.