Performance characteristics and cost effectiveness of starter broiler chicken fed goat blood-rumen based-diet supplemented with aromatic plants

Abstract

Goat blood-rumen content mixture based-diet supplemented with aromatic plants was used to supplement soya bean in the performance and economic analysis of birds. It was investigated using one hundred and twenty (120) one day old broiler chicken of Anak strain. Starter birds were subjected to five dietary treatments with each treatment having four replicates of six birds each in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Diet 1 was the control with 0% Goat Blood Rumen Content Mixture and aromatic plants (GBRCM). Diet 2 contained 10%GBRCMwithout aromatic plants supplementation. Diet 3, 4 and 5 contained 10% goat blood-rumen content mixture supplemented with garlic (Allium sativum), ginger (Zingiber officinale) and rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis). Parameters evaluated were body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and economic analysis. The results showed that birds fed aromatic plant supplemented diets improved significantly (P<0.05) in all the parameters evaluated than birds fed the non-supplemented diet and the control diet. Diet 3 with 10% goat blood-rumen content and Allium sativum had the best performance followed by diet 4 and diet 5. The lowest cost per kg body weight gain (N168.24) was recorded for diet T2 (10%GBRCM)while the highest cost per kg bodyweight gain (N220.05) was obtained for diet T1 (control). The GBRCM based-diet supplemented with aromatic plants reduced the high cost of feed materials and increased productivity of broiler chicken.