EFFECT OF HERBS (GINGER AND TURMERIC) POWDER AT VARIED INCLUSION LEVEL ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND NUTRIENT UTILIZATION OF BROILER CHICKS

The present study was carried out to assess the effect of herb types (ginger and turmeric) powder and inclusion level on growth performance and nutrient utilisation of broiler chicks. A total of two hundred and ten day old chicks of equal initial weight (39.00 g) were allocated to seven dietary treatments each with three replicates of ten chicks per replicate. Seven experimental diets were formulated in a way that control diet (T0) contained neither turmeric nor ginger. Birds in T1, T2 and T3 were fed diets containing 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30 % ginger respectively, while birds in T4, T5 and T6 were fed diet that contained 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30 % turmeric, respectively. The feeding trials were carried out for 28 days and parameters on growth performance and nutrient digestibility were measured. All growth parameters evaluated were not significantly different. Neither the herbs nor inclusion levels had significant effect on nutrients digestibility. It is concluded that inclusion of ginger and turmeric in the diets of broiler chicks showed no effect on growth performance and nutrient utilization. Therefore, ginger and turmeric above 0.30 % as feed additives in broiler chicks’ diet can be considered.