Effects of Moringa based Feed Additives on the Growth Performance and Carcass Quality of Broiler Chicken

The effects of selected herbal dietary supplements on the growth performance and carcass quality of broiler chicken were investigated. Three hundred and eight day-old, male broiler chicks of Indian River strain were randomly allotted to seven experimental diets namely negative control, 0.0125% flavomycin (positive control), 0.1% Moringa leaf powder (MLP), 0.05% Moringa leaf powder, 0.035% Zigbir (commercial herbal product), 0.1% Moringa fruit powder (MFP) and 0.05% Moringa fruit powder, in a complete randomized design. Each treatment contained 44 birds with four replicates of 11birds each. The body weights and feed consumption was recorded at weekly intervals. Body weight gains and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated. On 42^nd day birds were slaughtered and the weight after bleeding, weight after defeathering, total organ weight and dressed weight of individual birds were measured. The carcass quality parameters such as abdominal (fat around gizzard, vent and heart) and subcutaneous (neck, breast and leg) fat contents of five samples from each replicate were determined. The study revealed that all selected herbal dietary supplements significantly (P<0.05) improved the growth performance and carcass yield of broiler chicken compared to the negative control. Among the herbal feed additives, the commercial herbal product Zigbir was the most effective in improving the growth performance of broiler chicken. Moringa fruit powder of 0.1% increased the gizzard fat content while 0.1% Moringa leaf powder reduced the same. This study revealed that replacing antibiotic growth promoters with herbal supplements has beneficial effects on the growth performance and carcass yield of broiler chicken.

Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 24(1): 12-20(2012)