EFFECTS OF TURMERIC OIL (Curcuma longa) AS ALTERNATIVE FEED ADDITIVES IN BROILER DIET

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the productive performance and health status of commercial broiler chicks fed diets containing turmeric oil compared to antibiotic based diet. Experiment was done for a period of 28 days with a total of 150 day-old Cobb 500 broiler chicks were reared in Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Poultry Farm, Dhaka. Birds were divided into five dietary treatment groups with 3 replications each having 10 birds per replication. The dietary groups were control (basal diet; no additives), antibiotic (basal diet + antibiotic), turmeric oil (basal diet + 0.125% turmeric oil), turmeric oil (basal diet + 0.25% turmeric oil) and turmeric oil (basal diet + 0.5% turmeric oil). Results showed that the body weight, body weight gain and total FCR were not (P>0.05) significantly different among the treatment groups. Abdominal fat, total cholesterol (P>0.05) significantly lower in the supplemented groups compare to the control and antibiotic groups. Moreover, turmeric oil to broiler chicks diets found relative weight of liver, heart, gizzard and intestine weight which had no significant (P>0.05) differences among the treatments. Although the trends of weights were higher in turmeric oil supplementing group compared to the antibiotic and control. This experiment also reports that there was reduction in the serum glucose concentration in turmeric oil supplemented group when compared to the control and antibiotic group. Cost of production per kg live broiler was lower in antibiotic and control group comparing to the turmeric oil group. With regards to profit, turmeric oil groups showed higher profitability compared to the other groups. As antibiotic free and safe meat, profitability of supplemented groups increased when sale price considered from Tk. 150 to 170 per kg of live birds. Taken together, the results indicated that addition of turmeric oil to broiler diet had positive effect on growth performance, lipid profile and profitability and no negative effect on meat yield, bone development, cost benefit analysis and carcass parameter. Bases on the results of the present study it can be suggested that the 0.25% turmeric oil could be potential feed additives in broiler diet.