An Economic Analysis of Kampung Chicken Production Using the Small Water Plant Azolla microphylla in Their Feed

Abstract

We investigated the physical appearance and feed cost of kampung chickens whose feed was supplemented with 20% Azolla in commercial feed. The experiment was carried out with 15-day-old kampung chicks assigned to two treatments. One hundred birds were used in the study, with 50 birds assigned to treatment 1 (T1) and 50 birds assigned to treatment 2 (T2). Birds in T1 received a control diet consisting solely of commercial feed, with the diet containing 210 g/kg of crude protein. Birds in T2 received a diet that included 20% Azolla microphylla (AM) mixed in the ‘commercial diet’; this diet contained 200.4 g/kg of crude protein. The experiments were conducted over a period of 8 weeks. No differences were found in feed consumption and the final weight of the birds, but birds who were fed the T2 diet had a better feed conversion ratio (FCR) (p<0.05) than that of birds who were fed the T1 diet. No mortality of birds occurred during the experiment. Utilization of AM could reduce the costs of feed from IDR 7,000/kg to IDR 5,800/kg, while increasing income per bird from IDR 8,760 to IDR 11,834. In conclusion, utilization of 20% AM in the diet of kampung chickens reduces the feed cost, improves the FCR and increases the income per birds sold.