Nutritional Evaluation of Castor oil bean (Ricinus communis L) Meal

Five feeding experiments were conducted with 414 commercial broiler chicks (Anak strain) to investigate the effects of cooked castor oil bean meal diets supplemented with DL-methionine and L-lysine on growth performance, blood indices, internal organs and mortality of broiler birds.Results showed that increasing levels of cooked CBM in the diets decreased (P0.05) average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily weight gain (ADG), efficiency of feed and protein utilization, and decreased (P0.05) packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentration (Hb) and apparent retention of dry matter, nitrogen, ether extract and nitrogen-free extract. Birds fed 0, 10 and 15% CBM diets had similar growth rate, PCV and Hb. Birds fed the 20% CBM diet had relatively lower (P0.05) growth rate than birds fed the 0, 10 and 15% CBM diets. Supplementation of the diets with DL-methionine or with L-lysine enhanced (P0.05)birds' performance, PCV, Hb and apparent retention of nutrients at the 10, 15 and 20% CBM inclusion levels. No lesions were observed in all the internal organs examined.The results showed that dehulled and detoxified castor oil bean meal is a potential protein-rich feed ingredient.