Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the influence of dietary inclusion of turmeric and ginger on performance and on hematology characteristics
of broiler chicken at eight weeks of age, under the following parameters; feed conversion ratio (FCR), average daily gain (ADG), daily feed intake
(DFI) and hematology parameters; Red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), Hemoglobin estimate (Hb), Packed Cell Volume (PVC), Mean
corpuscular volume (MCV), Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). The broiler breed
used for this study was a total of seventy five (75) day old broiler of ROSS 308, which was housed in a brooder for four (4) weeks where they
received equal treatment, then randomly distributed into three (3) treatments coded T1, T2, and T3 and each treatment was further replicated into
3 replicates where 8 broilers were assigned to each replicate randomly, then feed and water were provided ad – libitum. Treatments were T1
(control), T2 (0.25% turmeric + 0.75% ginger), and T3 (0.75% turmeric + 0.25% ginger). ADG ranged from 27.52–37.29 g/d, comparable to
Sanusi et al. (2015; 26.73–43.76 g/d), with T2 > T3 > T1 (lowest: 27.52 g/d). DFI ranged from 57.63–68.24 g/d; T1 was lowest and similar to T3
(P > 0.05) but differed from T2 (P < 0.05). FCR (1.65–2.09) was unaffected by treatment (P > 0.05), lowest in T2. On hematological indices
observed were within normal reference range except mean value of WBC and higher than the reference range and its mean value range (37.967 –
46.133) 109/l. Since significant difference (p<0.05) was not observed among the means except RBC mean value of T1 was significantly similar to
T2 but were significantly different from T3 also mean value of PCV T1 and T3 were significantly similar but differ and higher in T2 this may
indicate 0.75% ginger level of inclusion against 0.25% inclusion level of ginger in T3 also among the mean value of the parameters T2 recorded
higher value than any other parameter except MCH, MCHC and Lymphocyte that recorded higher mean value than T2. The experimental design
used was the completely randomized design (CRD). Poultry farmers should incorporate a dietary blend of 0.25% turmeric and 0.75% ginger
powder (T2 treatment) in broiler rations to optimize average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR), as it yielded the highest
performance without negatively impacting feed intake or hematological profiles.
Keywords: Broilers, Ginger-Turmeric, Hematological Parameters
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