Carcass Quality, Nutrient Retention And Caeca Microbial Population Of Broiler Chicks Administered Rolfe (Daniellia Oliveri) Leaf Extract As An Antibiotic Alternative

Abstract

The study was designed to evaluate the carcass quality, nutrient retention and caeca microbial population of broiler chicks administered Daniellia oliveri leaf extract (DOE) as an antibiotic alternative. A total of 250 – one-day-old broiler chicks (Ross 308) were allocated to five treatments in a completely randomized design and each treatment group was further sub-divided into five replicates containing ten (10) birds each. Treatment 1 (Control) was given 1.20 g/ liter of Neomycin in water, while treatments 2, 3, 4 and 5 were given DOE at 10 ml, 20 ml, 30 ml and 40 ml/liter of water respectively. Clean feed and water were supplied ad libitum throughout the experiment which lasted for 56 days. Data collected were used to determine the carcass quality, nutrient retention and caeca microbial population. Highest dressing percentage was recorded for birds in T5 (70.0%) followed by T4 (69.08 %), T3 (67.18 %), T2 (67.44 %) and T1 (65.0 %) respectively (P<0.05). Weights of liver, kidney, spleen, gizzard, heart, intestine and other primal cut parts were significantly influenced (P<0.05). Nutrient retained for dry matter, crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract and nitrogen free extract were significantly (P<0.05) different among the treatments. Feeding DOE at 40 ml/litre significantly (P<0.05) decreased the count of E.coli and other pathogenic organisms, lactobacillus count was significantly (P<0.05) highest for all treatments fed DOE compared to the control. It was concluded that feeding DOE up to 40 ml/litre could aid in the proliferation of Lactobacilli and does not have any deleterious effect on the performance, carcass quality of broiler chicks