Effects of Palm Kernel Meal in Diets of Layer KUB Chicken

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different levels of palm kernel meal (PKM) on diets of layer KUB (Kampung Unggul Balibangtan) chicken. Local feed was included in the various diets of PKM at levels of 0% (T1), 10% of PKM (T2) and 20% of PKM (T3). This research was conducted in 2019 at the beginning of layer period. One hundred and forty-four 22-week-old layer birds were selected from a flock and randomly allocated to three treatments with 3 replicates of the diet feeds introduced. Feed intake and egg production were determined using the SPSS Software. The increase in PKM levels had no effect on feed intake and egg production (p>0.05). The egg production in each treatment were 65.39%, 60.67 % and 62.50%. PKM applied in T3 (20%) did not affect the egg production in KUB chickens due to low crude fibre (4.64%). The price of feed in T1, T2 and T3 were IDR 6,000, IDR 5,250 and IDR 4,500 respectively. With the difference in PKM feed prices of IDR 1,500 compared to commercial feed, this is expected to reduce the cost of KUB chicken production. Keywords: Palm kernel meal (PKM), layer KUB chicken, production