Abstract

• The demand for chicken's meat and eggs has increased substantially due to its good quality and nutritive values. The low productivity of native chicken is primarily attributed to low genetic potential, poor nutrition and disease control. Nutrition is a major influence on growth rate and egg production for breeding. This study aimed to identify the low-cost chicken feed with high profit that can yield favorable growth parameters and hatching rates for the farmers in the rural areas. The study was carried out from December 2023 to September 2024 in Bagan Village, Waw Township, Bago Region. A total of 27 (3-month-old) native chickens with initial weight of 540.00 ± 11.06g were randomly selected for three treatments. One male and eight females (1:8) were reared in each poultry house. The treatments were denoted as the birds fed commercial diet (T1), commercial diet substituted by 50% of locally available ingredients – broken rice, rice bran, snail shell powder and shrimp meal powder (T2) and a formulated diet including maize, broken rice, rice bran, snail shell powder and shrimp meal powder (T3), respectively. Throughout the grower stage, the growth parameters (body weight and weight gain) of all treatments were not significantly different from each other. The results of feed intake and FCR were influenced by feed types among three groups. The result also showed that the fertility rate of the native chickens fed three different diets was similar although there were significant differences in the laying and hatching rate of the eggs. In terms of net return and hatching performance, the native hens fed T2 diet exhibited the highest profit and those fed T1 diet obtained the highest proportion of hatched chicks (62%). This study concludes that the T2 diet is the most viable option for rural farmers, as it effectively reduces feed costs while maintaining growth performance and providing a high profit margin.