Effect of Using Israel Napier Grass in Feed Ration on Growth Performance of Local Chicken of Cambodia

This study investigated the effect of Israel grass in feed formulation on growth performance of local chicken. The study was conducted from October 2023 until January 2024 in Kampong Chheutel Institute of Technology. The CRD (Completely Randomized Design) was used with 4 treatments and 4 replications. The local chicks were purchased from local famer at 1 day old and kept in whole pen by feeding commercial feed. At 21 days old the total 320 chicks were allocated into experimental treatments. The 4 feed formulas based on the level of Israel grass added such as 0, 5%, 7% and 9%, were called T1 (control), T2, T3 and T4 respectively. The result showed that body weight gain, feed intake, ADG (Average Daily Gain) and FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio) in all treatments were not significantly different (p > 0.05). However, there was strong correlation between living weight with carcass of al treatments, but no difference among carcass percentage of local chicken for all different diet in this study. In conclusion, the Israel grass did not affect growth performance of local chickens and can be used to replace some expensive feed ingredient, such as rice bran.