Effect of Dietary Supplementation of a Phyto-supplement on Carcass Characteristics of Broiler Chickens

The effect of a phyto-supplement (PS) composed of Aerva lanata, Piper betle, Cynodon dactylon and Piper nigrum on carcass characteristics was evaluated in commercial broiler chicken.

A total of 192 day-old commercial broiler chicks were allocated to the four experimental groups and eachgroup was separated into 6 replicates, with 8 birds per replicate. The dietary treatment groups were the positive control (basal diet + antibiotic, chlortetracycline @355 g/metric ton of feed), negative control (0% PS: basal diet only), 1% PS (basal diet + 1% PS) and 2% PS (basal diet + 2%PS). The trial lasted for 42 days (0 to 42 D of age). The carcass characteristics were recorded for two birds from each replicate at the end of the trial.

The broilers fed chlortetracycline and 1% PS recorded the highest (P=0.0205) and those fed only basal diet (negative control) recorded the lowest dressing percentage. Broilers fed diet supplemented with 1 and 2% PS exhibited higher (P<0.0001) weight and relative weight of lung than other treatments. Broilers fed diet supplemented with 1 and 2% PS exhibited lower weight (P=0.0032) and relative weight (P=0.0002) of liver when compared with the antibiotic treatment. Feeding 1% PS increased the relative weight of heart quadratically (P=0.044) while 2% PS reduced the weight of heart. Broilers on negative control diet recorded the highest weight (P=0.0002) and relative weight (P<0.0001) of kidney.