Using <i>Origanum vulgare</i> L. in the floor management of chickens as an element of organic poultry farming

Abstract

The article provides the results of the use of dried Origanum vulgare mass as an additional component of bedding material in chickens of the Hubbard Redbro M meat-and-egg cross. Origanum vulgare dried mass was added at the rate of 0.5 kg per experimental group daily from the age of 45 days after the transfer of chickens to floor management. The number of heads for each group was 35. The live weight advantage at the age of 2 months of the experimental group of chickens over the control group is 102.5 g, at 75 days of age is 216.5 g, at 90 days of age is 326.0 g and at the age of 105 days is 403.0 g. The SBA increased at the background of the S. aureus test culture: there was a significant suppression of colonies in the first five hours of exposure, and at the background of the E. coli test culture there was a suppression throughout the entire study period. The intensification of metabolic processes was noted in chickens of the experimental group, due to increased protein metabolism, liver and kidney enzymes of blood serum, which was also associated with an increased concentration of thyroid hormones. All these factors made it possible to raise significantly the gain in live weight by an average of 0.11 kg, which increased the slaughter weight by 8.4 %. Almost all indicators of the development of internal organs in chickens of group II are within significant limits of the difference compared with the control group.