EFFECTS OF NEEM (Azadirachta indica) AND BITTER (Vernonia amygdalina) LEAVES EXTRACTS ON GROWTH, HEMATOLOGY AND SERUM BIOCHEMICAL INDICES OF BROILER CHICKEN

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of oral administering neem and bitter leaf extract as natural feed additive for broiler chicks on feed Intake, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), carcass parameters, hematological serum biochemical parameters, chick mortality percentage, sensory evaluation of meat, chemical composition of meat and partial budget analysis of broiler chicks. Unsexed one hundred ninety-two, day-old Cobb 500 broiler chick with initial weight of 42.16±0.65 (mean± SD) grams were randomly distributed to four treatments each with three replications in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Feed offered and refusals were recorded every day and Feed Intake (FI) was calculated as the difference between the two. Data on Feed Intake (FI) Average daily gain (ADG), and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) were analyzed for starter (1-21 days) and finisher (22-42 days) phases as well as for the entire experiment period (42 days) separately. At the end of the trial, four broilers were randomly picked up from each replication and slaughtered for carcass evaluation and the treatments were used water contain combination of bitter and neem leaf extract 0 ml, 2 ml, 4ml and 6 ml per liter of water for T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively. The CP and ME content of neem leave powder (NLP) and bitter leave powder (BLP) were 23.40% and 2716.06 Kcal/Kg DM and 21.50% and 3048.96 Kcal/Kg DM respectively. The average daily feed intake (ADFI) during the entire period was 104.49, 116.07, 118.65 and 122.32 g/bird (SEM=2.03) for T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively, and it was significantly higher (p<0.05) for T4 compared to other treatment groups. The body weight gain (BWG) during the entire experimental period was 45.95, 56.72, 57.92 and 61.95 g/bird/day (SEM=1.88) for T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively, and significantly higher in T4. The Feed conversion ratio (FCR) during the entire period was 2.28, 2.04, 2.04 and 1.97 (SEM = 0.04) for T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively and best for T4. Carcass weight was 1331.96, 1622.01, 1674.27 and 1899.70gm (SEM=65.58) for T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively, and it was higher in T4 than other treatments. The giblet organs and crop were significantly higher (P˂0.05) for T4. The serum cholesterol (SC) and white blood cell (WBC) of broilers in the experiment period were significantly (P˂0.05) lower for T4 as compared to other treatment. But Total protein (TP) was significantly (P˂0.05) higher in T4 among treatment groups which showed that the addition of extract in drink water of broiler had positive effect on the chicks’ blood. Parameters considered in partial budget analysis were feasible in T4. It was concluded that combination of Neem and bitter leaf extract in 6ml/1lt of drink water can be recommended in this study and it has a good natural feed additive for broiler production