Effect of garlic (Allium sativum) and nilavembu (Andrographis paniculata) on growth performance and cost effectiveness of broiler chicken

Abstract

The biological experiment was conducted to study the effect of feeding garlic (Allium sativum) and nilavembu (Andrographis paniculata) in broiler chicken (Vencobb 400) for a period of 6 weeks on various parameters, viz. biweekly body weight, gain in body weight, feed conversion ratio, livability and the cost effectiveness of feeding garlic and nilavembu. A total of 300 day-old, unsexed, broiler chicken were utilized for this study. The treatment groups were fed with diets containing garlic and nilavembu at different levels, such as control (T1), 5 g garlic + 1 g nilavembu (T2), 10 g garlic + 1 g nilavembu (T3), 5 g garlic + 2 g nilavembu (T4) and 10 g garlic + 2 g nilavembu (T5), respectively. Biological experiment revealed that there was highly significant (P<0.01) difference in body weight and body weight gain and feed conversion ratio. No significant difference was observed in feed consumption and livability. The cost effectiveness of the broiler chicken fed with various levels of garlic and nilavembu showed increased net profit per kg live weight in the group fed with 10 g garlic and 2 g nilavembu (T5).

Keywords

• Broiler
• Cost effectiveness
• Garlic
• Growth performance
• Nilavembu