Economic Evaluation of Broiler Diets Supplemented with Either Selected Herbs or Their Associated Essential Oils

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in incorporating phytogenic feed additives (PFAs) into broiler chicken diets as potential alternatives to traditional growth-promoting additives. This study evaluated the economics of individually incorporating either six different dried herbs or their essential oils into broiler diets: chamomile, rosemary, lavender, oregano, thyme and St. John's wort. A total of 390 day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were randomly divided into 13 groups of 30 chicks with three replicates (10 chicks/replicate). One group received a basal diet (control group), while the others received a basal diet supplemented with 2% of each dried herb (E1-E6 groups) or 0.02% of their essential oils (E7-E12 groups) for 39 days. The parameters measured were feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, feed costs, economic efficiency and European Broiler Index (EBI). The results showed better economic efficiency with 2% dried St. John's wort herb, as well as 0.02% St. John's wort, rosemary, thyme or lavender essential oils compared to the other treatments (P0.05). Unsatisfactory results were observed with dry lavender herb and essential oils of chamomile or oregano, which resulted in a significant decrease in net income and economic efficiency due to higher feed costs per kilogram live weight (P0.05). These results suggest that while certain PFAs can improve economic efficiency, their overall effect is variable and some may not outperform traditional growth promoters.