Growth Performance, Economic Benefits, Haematological Parameters and Tibia Morphology of Broiler Chickens on Diets Containing Piper guineense Meals as Feed Additive

Abstract

The incorporation of herbs and spices in the diets of livestock has been enthused to enhanced nutrient absorption, promoting health and growth. This study evaluated effects of dietary inclusion of Piper guineense leaf and seed on growth performance, haematological indices, bone morphology and economic production of broiler chickens. A total of 288-day old Cobb broiler chicks were brooded for 2 weeks and assigned to 4 dietary treatments with 8 replicates of 9 birds per replicate. Birds on treatment 1 were fed basal diet only. While those in treatments 2, 3 and 4 were fed basal diet plus 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 kg Piper guineense meal per 100 kg feed, respectively. Data generated were subjected to 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results revealed that dietary inclusion of Piper guineense meal significantly (p<0.05) influenced feed intake, wet and dry tibia weights, diaphysis diameter and tibia index. However, gross margin and profit index decreased significantly (p<0.05) with increasing dietary inclusion of Piper guineense. It was construed that dietary inclusion of Piper guineense meals enhanced feed intake, some haematological and bone morphological indices of broilers, hence, it can be adopted as a feed additive for sustainable poultry production.