Carcass Yield and Internal Organ Weights of Broiler Chickens Fed Diets Containing Garlic, Ginger and Garlic-Ginger Mixture

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate carcass yield and internal organ weights of broiler chickens fed garlic, ginger and garlic- ginger mixture. Four experimental broiler starter and finisher diets were formulated such that the diets contained 1.0% ginger (T₂), garlic (T₃) and garlic-ginger mixture (0.5 ginger + 0.5 garlic) (T₄), respectively. The control diet (T₁) contained no garlic or ginger or their mixture. The diets were fed toone hundred and twenty (120) day old Cobb broilers in a 56- day feeding trial. The diets were randomly assigned to fourgroups of 30 birds in a complete randomized design (CRD) replicated 3 times. Each replicate contained 10 birds. Broiler starter and finisher diets were fed for 0-28 and 29-56 day of age, respectively. Carcass yield and internal organ weights werecomparable for the treatments but dietary ginger, garlic and garlic-ginger mixture resulted in 4.06, 3.47 and 1.87% increase in carcass yield accompanied by a reduction of 0.47, 0.81 and 0.34% in abdominal fat, respectively. The increase in carcass yield materialized in additional net profit. In conclusion, the results confirm the beneficial effect of ginger, garlic and garlic-ginger mixture on broilers which manifested in additional profit to broiler processors. Ginger, garlic, and their mixture should be considered an effective phytogenic feed additive in poultry ration formulation.