Blood profile of broiler chickens fed supplemented garlic-based diets

Abstract

Conventional supplements have been criticised for their potential negative impact on the  food chain. Poultry researchers and nutritionists have been searching for viable alternative  feed additives. Poultry production is still facing challenges of diseases and a lot of research  are still on going. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of garlic (Allium  sativum) supplementation on the blood profile of broiler chicken. One hundred and fifty-day  old Marshal strains of broiler chicken were assigned to five dietary treatments with thirty  birds in a Completely Randomized Design. The thirty chicks were subdivided into three  replicates of 10 birds each. Feed and water were offered ad libitum and mortality was  recorded as it occurred. Blood were collected from two birds per replicate to determine  haematological and serum biochemical responses. No significant (p>0.05) difference was  observed in the haematological response and serum biochemistry profile of broilers fed  experimental diets, with the exception of the Cholesterol level which significantly (p<0.05)  decreased as the level of inclusion of the garlic increased, with the control diet having the  highest value (135.38mg/dL) while the least value (129.80mg/dL) was obtained from diets  containing 0.8% inclusion of garlic. Therefore, the inclusion of garlic (Allium sativum) in the  diets of broiler chicken had no deleterious effects on the blood profile of the experimental  birds but improved the cholesterol level of the birds at the inclusion level of 0.4g/ton of feed.