Effect of dietary supplementation of ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera) and vitamin E on growth per formance and carcass quality of broilers

Poultry meat is excellent source of protein, vitamins and minerals and India is the fourth largest producer of poultry meat in world. Incorporation of herbal plants and vitamins in the feed of broilers are more acceptable to health conscious consumers. So the current study was designed to analyse the combined effect of Ashwagandha and Vitamin E on growth performance and carcass traits of broilers. Day old chicks (360) were selected and divided in to six groups with 3 replicates of each group, 20 chicks in each replicate. Ashwagandha and vitamin E were supplemented in broiler chicken feed at different levels for different group. The growth performance of broilers were assessed in terms of weekly body weight gain and feed conversion ratio. The carcass quality was analyzed based on dressing percentage, drumstick weight, giblet weight, cooking yield and pH of fresh chicken meat. The data obtained in the present study were analyzed statistically by using Complete Randomized Design one way Anova procedure of SPSS version 20. Average body weight gain of broilers groups treated simultaneously with both the Ashwagandha and vitamin E showed significant (P<0.05) difference when compared to other groups. The highest body weight gain was found during the third week of the trial and for the treatment group T5. The carcass traits were also found better in Ashwagandha and vitamin E treated groups due to the synergistic effect of these dietary inclusions. The current study recommends an inclusion of Ashwagandha and vitamin E in the broiler diet at level of 2.5% and 200 mg/kg, respectively for the improvement of growth performance and carcass traits in broiler chicken.