Title : Effect of dietary supplementation of Dittrichia Viscosa leafs on growth performance in broiler chickens
Abstract:
In Algeria, the production of poultry sector represents a significant part of the agricultural economy. The Mediterranean climate encourages the development of wild plants, such as Dittrichia viscose (DV) which is a species of perennial herbaceous plant. DV is essentially rich in phenolic compounds and is widely used in traditional medicine in various remedies or controls of numerous health problems and infections. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of feed supplementation of leaf DV powder (91.18%, Dry matter rate; 14.55%, Fat content; 12.10%, Nitrogenous matter rate; and 18.69%, Mineral content rate) on growth performance of broiler chickens. One hundred and fifty-three 1-day-old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) were allocated into 3 groups with 3 replicates of 17 birds per group. The experimental groups received the diet substituted with 0 (control), 5% and 10% DV powder during 6 weeks duration divided into 3 dietary periods (starter diet, 1-18 d; grower diet, 19-37 d; finisher diet, 38-44 d). Feed intakes (FI) per pen, individual body weight gain (WG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated par period. Daily weight gain (DWG; g/d) was calculated as weekly body weight gain/7.The results obtained indicate clearly that weight gain in the control chickens (2866.7 ± 249.8 g) had greater weight gain than the chickens fed different treatments containing 5% and 10% DV (2606.7 ± 390 and 1813.3 ± 290 g, respectively) (P< 0.05). Minimal feed intake was observed in the birds’ control (2679.5 g), while the highest was noted in the chickens with diet added 5% and 10% DV (2896.2 and 2974.4 g, respectively). The lowest feed conversation ratio was observed in the birds with diet control (1.11) compared to fed supplemented 5 and 10% DV (1.24 and 1.91, respectively). Feeding control birds resulted in a significant (P < 0.05) increase in carcass weight and visceral part at 44 days of age compared to treated groups.The results obtained under the conditions of this experiment showed that the growth performance of the control group was the highest than DV powder feed supplementation in broiler chickens. However, other approaches are necessary, such as the incorporation of feed in the form of cake or pellets, to better understand the impact of DV on growth performance and biochemical parameters
