Synergistic Effects of Phytogenic Compounds on Early Growth Parameters of Native Chickens

The survival of native chickens during the first 6 weeks of growth is less than 50%. Hence, this study proposes the introduction of prophylactic antibiotics for poultry diseases prevention and treatment. However, the ban on antibiotics has prompted the search for plant-based biomedicines. Therefore, this trial aimed to determine the effect of phytogenic compounds (PC) of five herbs as water additives on the survival and growth responses of native chickens. A total of 204 Bisaya chickens (unsexed) were randomly assigned to 4 treatments replicated three times with 17 chickens in each replicate. Chickens were fed ad libitum and received water with 1.5 g antibiotics/1000ml water (control), 20 ml PC/1000ml water (T2), 40 ml PC/1000ml water (T3), and 60 ml PC/1000ml water (T4) for 35 days. No significant differences were observed on feed intake for chickens in antibiotics and PC treatments, however, the 60-PC group consumed slightly higher feed intake, compared to chickens under antibiotics and the other level of PC supplementation. Chickens in 60-PC ate 4-12% more feed than the others at the end of the trial period. Cumulative water used per kg feed did not differ among the experimental groups. The control and the PC supplemented chickens shared homogenous body weight and weight gains patterns, averaging 403.79 to 415.20g and 85.49 to 86.85g, respectively. Supplementation of 40-PC and 60-PC in drinking water for native chickens reduced the mortality rate and comparable feed conversion ratio with antibiotics. The 60-PC as a phytogenic water additive could enhance the growth performance, increase the survival rate, reduce mortality, and improve feed conversion ratio correlative to antibiotics.