Available Online at http://www.journalajst.com ASIAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Asian Journal of Science and Technology ISSN: 0976-3376 Vol. 6, Issue 01, pp. 940-946, January, 2015 RESEARCH ARTICLE COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF NERA BLACK AND SHAVER BROWN HENS FED SELFCOMPOUNDED AND COMMERCIAL LAYERS’ DIETS 1*Oyeagu, 2Department C. E., 1Ani, A. O., 1Egbu, C. F., 1Udeh, F. U. and 2Omumuabuike, J. N. 1Department of Animal Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria of Animal Health and Production Technology, Anambra State College of Agriculture Mgbakwu, Nigeria ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: This study was conducted to assess the performance and economic traits of feeding self-compounded layers’ diet and four commercial layers’ diets to Nera Black and Shaver Brown hens in hot humid tropical environment. A total of 120 28-weeks old Nera black hens and 120 28-weeks old Shaver brown hens were used. Each strain of bird was divided into five groups of 24 hens each and each group (for each strain) was randomly assigned to one of the five experimental diets (A, B, C, D, and E, respectively). Results showed that the Nera Black hens which consumed self-compounded diet (A) and commercial diet (D) recorded better (P<0.05) hen day production percentage value than Shaver Brown hens that consumed the same feeds.The gross profit from eggs produced by Nera Black birds that consumed the self-compounded diet was higher (P<0.05) than that from eggs produced by the Shaver brown birds which consumed the same diet. It was concluded that the Nera Black hens performed better than the Shaver Brown hens in terms of dozens of eggs produced, revenue from dozens of eggs produced and gross profit, while the use of self-compounded diet resulted in better performance than the use of commercial diets. Received 02nd October, 2014 Received in revised form 05th November, 2014 Accepted 01st December, 2014 Published online 30th January, 2015 Key words: Experimental Diets, Strain of Bird, Gross Profit, Hot Humid Tropical Environment Copyright © 2015 Oyeagu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. INTRODUCTION In Nigeria, the rate at which food is being produced is not commensurate with the rate at which population is increasing. According to FOS (1996) as cited in Ojo (2003), food production increases at the rate of 2.5% while food demand increases at a rate more than 3.5% due to high rate of population growth of 2.83%. According to Ajibefun and Daramola (1999) poultry production has been one of the most important contributions to employment opportunities in Nigeria. Poultry production has become a popular source of income to small scale farmers in Nigeria because of high level of research information developed in the past years, the development of economic integrated system for production and marketing of poultry products, and the knowledge of genetics, nutrition, management and disease control (Olarinde and Kuponiyi, 2004). Poultry production has also been described as the most economic means of reducing the animal protein shortfall in developing countries (Smith, 2001; Oluyemi and Roberts, 2000). Poultry feeding is a major item of cost in poultry production. Many commercial poultry farms had collapsed while a good number of them experienced slow *Corresponding author: Oyeagu, C. E., Department of Animal Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. growth as a result of sudden increase in the cost of poultry feeds (Ogundipe, 2002; Onimisi, 2004). This incident paved way for commercial poultry feed manufacturers to source for unconventional, low quality and stale feed ingredients in order to maximize profit. Neglecting the fact that laying birds need qualitative feed to enhance egg production. High cost of poultry feed also results in general increase in the cost of production. Hence, in other to increase profitability in the poultry industry, there is the need to formulate practical rations that will help in reducing the cost of production and still maintain high level of performance in the birds (Adebayo et al., 2002). Where farmers are faced with sub-standard or low quality feed from the commercial feed dealers, they have the choice of formulating their own feeds provided the proximate/ chemical compositions of the feed ingredients being used in ration formulation are known so as to meet the nutrient requirements of the animal for optimum performance (Lorgyer et al., 2007).Although management and feeding practices are the key determining factors of egg production, the breed of laying hen affects egg production. The rate of adaptation and quality of egg production of different exotic breeds of hen vary when exposed to a variety of climate and environments. According to Miles and Jacob (2000), some hens may be laying at a very high production rate while others may not be laying at all. 941 Asian Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 6, Issue 01, pp.940-946, January, 2015 Conducting research on the laying capabilities of two strains of exotic breed of hen therefore, has become imperative so as to obtain information that would help to establish proven production basis which will determine their suitability for massive commercial and small scale egg productions when exposed to feeds from different sources. The present study was therefore conducted to determine the comparative laying response of Shaver brown and Nera black hens to self-made and commercial layers’ diets in hot humid environment. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted at the Poultry Unit of the Department of Animal Science Teaching and Research Farm, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Nsukka lies within longitude 6o 451E and 7oE and latitude 7o 12.51N (Offomata 1975) and on the altitude 447m above sea level. The climate of the study area is typically tropical, with relative humidity ranging from 65 – 80% and mean daily temperature of 26.8oC (Agbagha, et al., 2000). The rainy season is between April – October and dry season between November – March with annual rainfall range of 1680 – 1700mm (Breinholt et al., 1981). The entire study lasted for 12 weeks. Experimental Diets Five experimental diets (A, B, C, D and E) was used as follows: Diets B, C, D and E will comprise Top®, Gold medal®, Chidera® and Vital® commercial layers feeds, respectively while diet A was self-compounded (homemade) layers’ mash. The percentage composition of the self -compounded diet is presented in Table1. Table 1. Percentage and Calculated Compositions of Experimental Diets Ingredients Maize Wheat offal Palm kernel cake Groundnut cake Fish meal Soy bean meal Bone meal Lime stone Salt Lysine Methionine Layers’ premix* Total Crude protein (%) Crude fibre (%) Ether extract (%) Lysine (%) Methionine (%) Calcium (%) Energy (Mcal/kg ME) The hens were housed in the laying house situated at the Poultry Unit of the Department of Animal Science Teaching and Research Farm, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The house is an open – sided tropical type, fitted with two-tier battery cages with feeders and drinkers. Flat aluminum metal plates were constructed and used to partition the feeding troughs at intervals of four (4) cages. The idea was to prevent spillover of feeds from or to neighboring treatments. The birds of each strain were randomly divided into five groups of 24 hens each and each group was randomly assigned to one of five experimental diets (Self-compounded layers’ diet (A) (reference diet), and four commercial layers’ diets-B, C, D, and E, respectively) using a randomized completely blocks design (RCBD), with strain constituting the block. Diet A which is the self-compounded diet served as the control diet. Each diet constituted a treatment and each treatment was replicated three (3) times with eight (8) birds per replicate for each strain. Two hens were housed in a cage measuring 49 x 35 x 42 cm. Four (4) of such cages constituted a replicate for each strain. Each hen in a replicate received about 130g of layers’ mash daily and ad libitum supply of water for the twelve weeks experimental period. As a general flock prophylactic management strategy, routine vaccinations were administered as and when due. Performance Parameters Measured The parameters measured included as follows: Initial and final body weights: These were measured at the beginning and at the end of the experiment, respectively. Average Body Weight (kg) = Final body weight – initial body weight. Diets A 48 10 14 10 2 6 3 6 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 100 17.00 5.49 4.97 1.24 0.92 3.73 2700 B - C - D - E - - - - - - - - - 16.50 6.00 5.00 0.80 0.34 3.80 2500 16.50 6.50 4.50 1.00 0.50 3.50 2550 16.50 6.00 4.56 0.90 0.45 3.55 2600 16.50 6.50 4.00 1.00 0.55 3.60 2650 Animals and Management The experiment was carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Ethical Committee on the use of animals and humans for biomedical research of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (2006). A total of 120 28-weeks old Nera black hens and 120 28-weeks old Shaver brown hens were used for the study. Percentage Egg Production: Percentage egg production was calculated using the formula as shown below: Egg Weight (g): Egg weight was taken for every egg collected for the hens and the weighing was done for all the collected eggs within one hour of collection. Electronic balance (D and G sensitive scale) was used and the measurement expressed in grammes. Egg Quality: Sixteen (16) eggs were randomly selected weekly for egg quality analysis. The indices determined were as follows: Egg Shell Weight (g): Each egg was carefully broken and dried after which the egg was weighed using a weighing balance. 942 Asian Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 6, Issue 01, pp.940-946, January, 2015 Egg Shell Thickness (mm): This was determined by pulling off the shell immediately the egg was broken and the shell was air-dried for a day (24 hours) after which the egg shell thickness was determined with the help of a micrometer screw guage. Gross Profit (N) = Revenue from dozens of egg produced (N) ˗ Cost of feed Consumed (N) (all other things been equal). Egg Shape Index: The egg shape index was calculated as the proportion of egg length to diameter. Samples of the five experimental diets were analyzed for their proximate compositions according to AOAC (2006) methods. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) for randomized completely block design (RCBD) as described by Akindele (2004) using a Statistical Analysis System (SAS, 2006). Significantly different means were separated using Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test (Duncan, 1995) as outlined by Obi (2002). Albumin Height and Diameter (mm/cm): The eggs after weighing were broken into a flat bottom glass (beaker) positioned on a flat surface. The albumin height was measured using a tripod micrometer. Albumin diameter was taken as the maximum cross sectional diameter of the albumin using a pair of calipers and read on a ruler calibrated in millimeter. Yolk Height and Diameter (mm/cm): The eggs after weighing were broken into a flat bottom glass (beaker) positioned on a flat surface. The Yolk height was measured using a tripod micrometer. Yolk diameter was taken as the maximum cross sectional diameter of the yolk using a pair of calipers and read on a ruler calibrated in millimeter. Albumin Index: The albumin index was calculated as the proportion of yolk height to diameter. Yolk Index: The yolk index was calculated as the proportion of yolk height to diameter. Haugh Unit: This was calculated from the values obtained from the albumin height and egg weight by using the formula: Haugh’s unit = 100log (H+7.57-1.7W0.37) as described by Williams (1992). Determination of Economic traits Data generated were used to determine the cost implication of feeding self-compounded layers’ diet and some commercial layers’ diets to the experimental hens. The economic indices determined include the following: Price per Crate of Egg (N): A crate of egg was sold at N650 as at the time of the research work. Cost of Feed Consumed (N) Consumed (N) × Cost of kg of feed (N) = Total feed Price of a Dozen of Egg (N) = 1 dozen of egg was sold at N260.40 as at the time of the research work. Cost per dozen of egg (N) = Total cost of feed consumed / Total dozen of egg produced Revenue from Dozens of Egg Produced (N) = Total dozens of egg produced x Price of one dozen of egg. Proximate and Statistical Analyses RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Effect of Feed type and Strain type on Performance Traits of Nera Black and Shaver Brown Hens Data on the effect of feed type and strain type on performance traits of Nera Black (NB) and Shaver Brown (SB) hens are presented in Table 3. While no significant (P>0.05) effect existed between feed type and strain type in final body weight and average body weight gain, there were feed type x strain type effects (P<0.05) on hen day production, average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Nera Black hens which consumed self-compounded diet (A) and commercial diet (D) had significant (P<0.05) hen day production percentage value than Shaver Brown hens that consumed the same feeds. It has been reported (Ojepapo et al., 2009) that egg production is of great economic importance and that the success of the enterprise depends on the total number of eggs produced. Table 2. Proximate Compositions of the Experimental Diets Determined Compositions Crude Protein (%) Crude fibre (%) Ether extract (%) Ash (%) Moisture (%) Energy (Mcal/kg ME) A 17.80 5.00 5.77 11.40 11.35 2670 B 17.30 4.60 5.33 10.70 11.45 2450 C 17.00 4.45 5.17 10.40 11.30 2455 Diets D 17.20 4.15 5.56 13.30 10.91 2560 E 16.96 5.00 5.64 13.10 11.30 2565 Under the same dietary regime, the use of Nera black hens for egg production may be a better option. As shown in Table 3, Nera Black hens which consumed commercial diet C had significant (P<0.05) higher ADFI and FCR values than Shaver Brown hens that consumed the same diet. The observed differences in hen day production, ADFI and FCR between strains that were fed the various feeds may be attributed to genetic variation. This is in line with earlier reports (Nawar and Abdou, 1999; Suk and Park, 2001; Hocking et al., 2003) which showed that genetic variation existed in egg production between breeds, strains and lines. However, the present observation disagrees with the report of Duduyemi (2005) which showed that no effect (P>0.05) existed between strains in overall egg production. The fact that Shaver brown hens which consumed commercial diet C had lower (P<0.05) ADFI and FCR values than Nera black hens which also consumed the same diet (Table 3) tends to suggest that Shaver brown hens utilized the feed more efficiently than their Nera black counterparts. 943 Asian Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 6, Issue 01, pp.940-946, January, 2015 A similar observation had been reported by Yakubu et al., (2007). It does imply therefore, that under the same dietary regime, the use of Shaver brown hens for egg production will help to save cost due to reduction in feed intake and cost of feed consumed. The observation that the egg shell thickness value of Shaver Brown hens was higher (P<0.05) than that of the Nera Black hens could be due to difference in the genetic constitution of the two strains of birds. This is in line with earlier report (Curtis et al., 1985) as cited by Singh et al. (2009), which showed that different strains of laying hens vary significantly in egg shell quality. Table 3. Effect of Feed type and Strain type on Performance Traits Parameters Initial weight (kg) Strain NB SB SEM A (control) 1.39 1.26 0.04 B 1.33 1.31 0.06 C 1.32 1.26 0.06 D 1.43 1.40 0.03 E 1.28 1.28 0.04 Final body weight (kg) NB SB SEM 1.52 1.38 0.04 1.40 1.37 0.05 1.37 1.33 0.06 1.48 1.47 0.05 1.34 1.35 0.08 Av body wt gain (kg) NB SB SEM 0.13 0.18 0.03 0.07 0.06 0.03 0.05 0.07 0.04 0.05 0.07 0.02 0.06 0.07 0.05 Hen day production (%) NB SB SEM 87.67a 65.67b 1.87 86.00 75.00 2.35 79.33 78.33 2.77 80.67a 63.67b 1.01 77.33 59.67 2.32 Av daily feed intake (g) NB SB SEM 79.17 75.42 1.42 93.10 76.67 2.37 99.25a 80.83b 1.56 89.58 84.17 1.78 79.17 58.75 2.35 1.25 1.35 1.52a 1.37 1.09 NB 1.20 1.60 1.25b 1.41 1.38 SB 0.07 0.10 0.04 0.05 0.08 SEM a,b ; Row means with different superscripts differ significantly at P <0.05. NB= Nera Black, SB= Shaver Brown Feed conversion ratio Table 4. Effect of Feed type and Strain type on the External Egg Parameters of Nera Black and Shaver Brown Hens Parameters Av egg wt(g) Egg shell thickness(mm) Egg shell weight (g) Egg diameter (cm) Egg length (cm) Egg shape index Strain NB SB SEM NB SB SEM NB SB SEM NB SB SEM NB SB SEM NB SB SEM A (control) 69.55 62.16 0.96 0.23 0.26 0.02 8.62 7.84 0.37 3.31 3.29 0.05 4.74 4.50 0.01 1.43 1.37 0.05 Effect of Feed type and Strain type on the External Egg Parameters of Nera Black and Shaver Brown Hens The effect of strain type and feed type on the external egg characteristics of Nera Black and Shaver Brown hens is shown in Table 4. Although no combination (P>0.05) effect existed between strain type and feed type in average egg weight, egg shell weight, egg diameter, egg length and egg shape index, significant (P<0.05) feed type x strain type existed in egg shell thickness. Shaver Brown hens which consumed commercial diets B and E had higher (P<0.05) egg shell thickness value than Nera Black hens that consumed the same feeds. B 64.50 65.11 0.60 0.20b 0.23a 0.01 7.97 8.05 0.05 3.29 3.31 0.01 4.74 4.69 0.03 1.44 1.42 0.02 C 63.11 64.56 0.84 0.23 0.25 0.02 7.88 8.43 0.19 3.25 3.30 0.02 4.71 4.65 0.03 1.45 1.41 0.07 D 64.50 67.30 0.88 0.23 0.25 0.01 8.35 8.89 0.14 3.28 3.34 0.03 4.79 4.74 0.03 1.46 1.42 0.09 E 64.84 65.40 1.52 0.20b 0.26a 0.01 7.95 8.68 0.09 3.29 3.35 0.04 4.72 4.66 0.04 1.44 1.39 0.08 Effect of Feed type and Strain type on the Internal Egg Parameters of Nera Black and Shaver Brown Hens The effect of feed type and strain type on the internal egg characteristics of Nera Black and Shaver Brown hens is shown in Table 5. There were no combination (P>0.05) effect between strain type and feed type in all the internal egg parameters (haugh unit score, yolk weight, yolk height, yolk diameter, yolk index, albumin weight, albumin height, albumin diameter, albumin length and albumin index) determined. 944 Asian Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 6, Issue 01, pp.940-946, January, 2015 Table 5. Effect of Feed type and Strain type on the Internal Egg Parameters of Nera Black and Shaver Brown Hens Parameters Haugh unit score(%) Strain NB SB SEM A (control) 92.33 87.33 1.67 B 83.33 88.33 0.85 C 86.33 88.33 0.89 D 86.00 89.67 1.22 E 82.67 89.00 1.09 Yolk wt (g) NB SB SEM 16.01 15.35 0.09 16.44 15.95 0.23 15.72 15.88 0.13 16.25 16.04 0.30 16.02 15.55 0.57 Yolk hight (mm) NB SB SEM 18.96 17.47 0.32 18.32 18.55 0.15 18.73 18.29 0.21 18.40 18.80 0.35 17.52 18.04 0.24 Yolk diameter(cm) NB SB SEM 2.99 3.04 0.03 3.05 3.00 0.04 2.99 2.30 0.05 3.03 3.00 0.04 3.21 3.00 0.05 Yolk index NB SB SEM 0.64 0.57 0.01 0.60 0.62 0.01 0.63 0.61 0.01 0.61 0.63 0.01 0.56 0.60 0.01 Albumin wt (g) NB SB SEM 39.18 36.48 0.54 38.23 38.72 0.07 36.88 37.57 0.98 38.98 40.00 0.77 38.10 39.68 0.86 Albumin hight (mm) NB SB SEM 8.73 7.77 0.24 7.16 8.08 0.20 7.61 8.07 0.09 7.63 8.45 0.31 6.77 8.14 0.12 Albumin diameter(cm) NB SB SEM 5.74 6.06 0.12 6.31 6.24 0.10 5.96 6.04 0.11 6.00 6.29 0.18 6.21 6.33 0.21 Albumin length (cm) NB SB SEM 7.54 7.78 0.34 7.93 7.74 0.23 7.87 7.60 0.25 7.96 8.30 0.18 8.14 7.63 0.24 1.31 1.32 1.32 1.26 1.31 NB 1.20 1.32 1.26 1.24 1.29 SB 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.02 SEM a,b ; Row means with different superscripts differ significantly at P <0.05.. NB= Nera Black, SB= Shaver Brown Albumin index The observed similarity in the values obtained for the internal egg parameters of the two strains of birds could be attributed to the fact that these exotic birds are commercial hybrids that have been selected over many generations from interbreeding between specialized breeds, strains and lines. Similar views have been expressed by Akinokun and Dettmers (1977) as cited by Duduyemi (2005). Effect of Feed type and Strain type on cost implication of feeding self-compounded and Commercial Layers’ Diets to Shaver Brown and Nera Black Hens Table 6 shows the cost implication of feeding selfcompounded diet A and four different commercial diets to Nera Black (NB) and Shaver Brown (SB) hens. There was no combination (P>0.05) effect between strain type and feed type in cost of feed consumed and cost per dozen of egg. However, combination (P<0.05) effect existed between feed type x strain type in dozens of eggs produced per bird, total feed consumed, revenue from dozens of egg produced and gross profit. Nera Black hens that consumed the self-compounded diet produced more (P<0.05) dozens of eggs than the shaver brown hens that consumed the same diet. Nera Black hens also consumed more (P<0.05) of commercial diet C than the Shaver brown hens. Table 6 also shows that more (P<0.05) revenue was realized from the dozens of eggs produced by Nera Black hens which consumed the self-compounded diet (A) and commercial diets D and E than the Shaver brown hens that consumed the same diets. The gross profit from eggs produced by Nera Black birds that consumed the self-compounded diet was higher (P<0.05) than that from Shaver brown hens which consumed the same diet. Among the five diets used in the study, the consumption of the self-compounded diet (A) by the birds had significant and positive effect on the dozens of eggs produced, revenue from dozens of eggs produced and gross profit realized. This tends to indicate that the use of the self-compounded diet reduced production cost, increased performance in laying hen and increased profit margins of the enterprise. This is in tandem with previous reports (Adebayo et al., 2002; Afolayan et al., 2009) which showed that to increase profitability in the poultry industry, there is need to formulate practical rations that will help in reducing the cost of production and still maintain high level of performance in good strain of birds. That the Nera black hens produced more dozens of eggs than the Shaver Brown hens under the same dietary regime (Table 6) does imply perhaps that the Nera black hens were genetically superior to the Shaver brown hens. 945 Asian Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 6, Issue 01, pp.940-946, January, 2015 Table 6. Effect of feed type and strain type on the cost implication of feeding Self-compounded and Commercial Layers’ Diets to Shaver Brown (SB) Hens Parameters Dozens of eggs produced per bird (dozen) Strain NB SB SEM A (control) 6.73a 5.05b 0.21 B 6.32 5.72 0.53 C 6.08 6.01 0.34 D 6.18 4.88 0.42 E 5.91 4.54 0.35 Price per crate of egg (N) NB SB SEM 650.00 650.00 - 650.00 650.00 - 650.00 650.00 - 650.00 650.00 - 650.00 650.00 - Cost of kg of feed (N) NB SB SEM 60.00 60.00 - 74.00 74.00 - 72.00 72.00 - 72.00 72.00 - 70.00 70.00 - Total feed consumed (kg) NB SB SEM 7.36 7.01 0.35 8.66 7.13 0.38 9.23a 7.52b 0.31 8.33 7.83 0.33 7.36 5.46 0.36 Cost of feed consumed (N) NB SB SEM 441.60 420.60 4.55 640.84 527.62 3.45 664.56 541.44 4.33 599.76 563.76 3.35 515.20 382.20 4.14 Price of a dozen of egg (N) NB SB SEM 260.40 260.40 - 260.40 260.40 - 260.40 260.40 - 260.40 260.40 - 260.40 260.40 - Cost per dozen of egg (N) NB SB SEM 65.62 83.29 1.87 101.40 92.24 2.07 109.30 90.09 2.11 97.05 115.52 2.09 87.17 84.19 1.99 NB SB SEM 1752.49a 1315.02b 2.05 1650.94 1489.49 2.51 1583.23 1565.00 2.52 1609.27a 1270.75b 2.25 1538.96a 1182.22b 2.73 Revenue from dozens of egg produced(N) 1009.51 918.67 1010.10 1310.89a NB 706.99 1023.56 961.89 894.42b SB 3.28 3.55 3.36 2.25 SEM a,b ; Row means with different superscripts differ significantly at P <0.05.NB= Nera Black, SB= Shaver Brown. Gross profit (N) It does seem therefore that the Nera black hens are better adapted to humid tropical environment than their Shaver brown counterparts. Akanni et al. (2008) and Gwaza and Egahi (2009) had expressed similar views. The performance of laying hens kept in the tropics is determined to a large extent by the bird’s productive adaptability (Yakubu et al., 2007). Interestingly, the Nera Black hens ate more of commercial diet C than the Shaver brown hens. This could possibly be due to genetic differences coupled with physical activities, physical condition, basal metabolic rate, body temperature and body composition (Luiting, 1990 and Singh et al., 2009). From a general point of view, the results obtained in the present study tends to suggest that the use of self-compounded diet resulted in better performance and profit margins of the poultry enterprise than the use of the commercial feeds. This assertion agrees with earlier reports (Singh and Panda, 1988; Ogunwoleye and Onwuka, 1997; Asaniyan and Laseinde, 2005; Lorgyer et al., 2007). Good strain of birds therefore, should be considered as well as good formulated and balanced ration when venturing into the poultry enterprise, especially egg production. Afolayan et al. (2009) and Singh et al. (2009) had made similar suggestion. Conclusion It is evident from the results obtained in the present study that the Nera Black hens performed better than the Shaver Brown hens in terms of dozens of eggs produced, revenue from 1023.76 800.02 3.34 dozens of eggs produced and gross profit, while the use of self-compounded diet resulted in better performance than the use of commercial diets. REFERENCES Adebayo, A.A., Salami S.B. and Oloyinde L. 2002. The influence of selected socioeconomic variables on poultry farmers’ choice of commercial and self-compounded feeds in Lagos area of Nigeria. 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