Nutriceutical effect of selected low tannin feed (LTF) ingredients were evaluated for its effect on body weight gain, feed efficiency and sporulation of coccidial oocysts in forty eight day old commercial male layer chicks fed three LTF containing tannin in the form of white jowar (0.2%), red jowar (0.6%) and ragi- (0.4%) with a control ration (broken rice). The experiment showed an overall increase in the weekly body weight gain (101.8,98.0,94.9gm in red jowar, ragi and whitejowar) in the birds receiving the LTF than the birds fed broken rice (81.4gm). The feed conversion ratio was found similar level (3.90,3.83 and 3.38 in red jowar, white jowar and, ragi respectively) in birds that received both LTF and control feed (broken rice 3.4) indicating a nutriceutical effect. Similarly a lower mean Oocysts per gram of faeces (OPG) and sporulation per cent was observed (50.8,53.2,56.0) among chicks fed LTF than the control birds (77.4) indicating anticoccidial property of tanniniferous feeds.
Low tannin feeds, whitejowar, red jowar, ragi, nutriceutical effect, anti-coccidial poperty, poultry
