Effect of phytase supplementation on production performance and economics of Kadaknath chickens

Abstract

Kadaknath is an important indigenous breed of poultry inhabitating vast areas of Western Madhya Pradesh mainly the Jhabua and Dhar districts. Since a long time, Kadaknath breed of poultry was reared by tribes and therefore through many generations of selection and fixation of genes some of the important breed characteristics had been established. The specialty of the breed is that the flesh and internal organs of this chicken are black in colour. It is also to be noted that it is the only black meat chicken breed of India. The meat and eggs are also reckoned to be a rich source of protein. These are slow growers, so for increasing the performance, many enzymes are used specially, phytase. In the present study, 120 chicks were divided into three groups and given Phytase @ 500 and 1000 IU/kg of feed with T0 group kept as control. The results for the growth performance, FCR and carcass characteristics were very encouraging and also the profitable in terms of economics.