Growth Performance, Carcass and Organ Yields of Three Strains of Broiler Chickens Fed with and without Garlic Powder as Feed Additive

Use of natural plant materials like garlic in broiler production for enhanced performance, carcass quality and food safety are now widely advocated. This study examined growth performance and carcass yield of three strains of broiler chickens fed diet supplemented with conventional anticoccidial (Ac) or garlic (G) powder as additive in a 3x2 factorial arrangement. Two hundred and eighty-eight, unsexed 4weeks old broiler chickens comprising 96 each of Ross 308 (R), Marshal (M), and Arbor Acre (A) strains were randomly allocated into six dietary treatments to make RAc for Ross on conventional anti-coccidial, MAc for Marshal on conventional anti-coccidial and AAc for Arbor Acre on conventional anti-coccidial at manufacturer’s recommended level and RG for Ross on garlic, MG for Marshal on garlic and AG for Arbor Acre on garlic powder at 1.25g per kg feed. Data were collected on body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. On day 26, two birds whose body weights were close to the group mean were selected per replicate and sacrificed for carcass analysis. The live, eviscerated, dressed, cut-parts, gizzard, liver, heart, proventriculus and offals weights were taken and analysed using ANOVA. Strain of broiler chickens and feed additive type did not influence growth performance. Arbor Acre had (p<0.05) the least dressed weight while Ross had the highest wing and shank weights. Marshal strain of broilers fed diet containing garlic recorded the highest (p<0.05) dressed weight. The study concluded that garlic can be used as natural anti-coccidial to optimize growth performance and carcass yield in broiler production.