Evaluation of Soybean Hulls as a Feed Ingredient for Layers in Ondo State

This study evaluates soybean hulls as a dietary ingredient for commercial laying hens in Ondo State, South West Nigeria. Soybean hull is a by-product of soybean processing that is abundantly available in southern Nigeria at low cost. While its high crude fibre content limits inclusion in broiler diets, layers have greater fibre tolerance, and soybean hulls could reduce diet formulation costs if included at appropriate levels without compromising production performance. This study uses a completely randomised design testing four soybean hull inclusion levels: 0, 5, 10, and 15 percent in a standard layer mash diet fed to 96 Lohmann Brown laying hens in groups of 24 birds per treatment at Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba research farm. Feed intake, egg production percentage, egg weight, feed conversion ratio, egg quality parameters, and cost of production per dozen eggs are measured over 12 weeks. Findings reveal that 5 and 10 percent soybean hull inclusion maintains egg production performance statistically equivalent to the control diet while reducing feed cost per dozen eggs by 6 and 11 percent respectively. Fifteen percent inclusion significantly reduces egg weight and production percentage, suggesting fibre-related reduction in nutrient utilisation. Haugh unit score and shell thickness are unaffected at 10 percent inclusion. The study concludes that soybean hulls can be included at up to 10 percent in layer diets without compromising performance while reducing production cost. It recommends soybean hull utilisation as a cost reduction strategy for commercial layer operations in Ondo State.

Keywords: soybean hulls, laying hens, feed cost, egg production, Ondo State.