Effect of Herbal Supplements of Curcuma longa, Emblica officinalis and Nigella sativa on Performance of Broilers

Supplementation of mixture of Curcuma longa (haldi), Emblica officinalis (amla) and Nigella sativa (mangrail) was evaluated for performance of broiler chicken. Two hundred day old commercial broiler chicks were distributed randomly into four groups of 50 chicks each with replicates of 10 birds in each group. The chicks were given basal diet without any supplement (NCON) or with antibiotic (PCON), 0.5 (CEN-0.5) and 1.0% (CEN-1.0) of each C. longa, E. officinalis and N. sativa powder mixture. The weight gain of PCON and CEN-1.0 group broilers were significantly (P<0.05) higher than NCON group. Feed consumption was lower in herbal supplemented broilers than negative control group. PCON and CEN-1.0 groups showed significantly (P<0.05) lower FCR than negative control group. No significant effect of herbs was observed on carcass characteristics. The profit per bird was significantly (P<0.05) higher in all the treatment groups in comparison to the NCON group, however, profit per kg live weight of the birds was only significantly (P<0.05) higher in herbal treatment groups. So, 1% of each C. longa, E. officinalis and N. sativa powder mixture may be used as a phytobiotic in place of antibiotic feed additives in broilers.