The Effects of <i>Allium sativum</i> and <i>Piper Nigrum</i> on the Growth Perfomance and Packed Cell Volume of Broiler Chicks

Abstract

This research was carried out to investigate the effect of <i>Allium sativum</i> (garlic) and <i>Piper nigrum</i> (black pepper) on growth performance and PCV of broiler chicks. Sixty <i>Abor acre</i> broiler chicks of mixed sexes at four weeks old were used in this research, they were randomly allocated to four treatments. Those in group A served as control and were given chick mash and water only, group B received 1g of garlic powder mixed in 100g of chick mash, group C also received 1g of black pepper powder mixed in 100g of chick mash while group D were fed 0.5g of garlic and 0.5g black pepper powder mixed in 100g of chick mash. The experiments lasted for eight weeks. At the end of the experiment, the result of the study revealed that birds fed with mixture of garlic (0.05g) and black pepper (0.5g) powder recorded a significant (P<0.05) mean weight 2005g, followed by those fed garlic powder with mean weight 1884g. Birds that were fed black pepper recorded mean weight 1589g while the control group produced the least mean weight of 1338g. Analysis of variance showed no statistically significant difference (P<0.05) between the Packed Cell Volume of birds fed with black pepper powder compared to those of control, garlic and mixture of garlic and black pepper group of broiler. Birds fed with black pepper powder had the highest PCV value of 40.979, followed by those fed with mixture of garlic and black pepper powder 38.593. Broilers fed with 1g of garlic powder recorded PCV level of 37.178 while control group recorded the least value of 35.692. The result of this research indicated that black pepper boosted PCV in broiler and its mixture with garlic also enhanced body weight when incorporated in the right proportion.