EFFECTS OF GARLIC ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND HAEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF BROILER CHICKS

Abstract

This study evaluates the effects of garlic on growth performance and haematological parameters of broiler chicks. One hundred and twenty (120) broiler chicks were distributed into four (4) treatments (T1 – T4) from day old with three replicate each. T1 had no garlic extract, T2, T3 and T4 birds had 5%, 10% and 15% inclusion levels of garlic extract. 10 birds per replicate were distributed in a Completely Randomized Design. Data generated were subjected to one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results obtained showed that there were significant (p<0.05) differences in feed conversion ratio (FCR) and percent mortality with the best FCR at T4 and least mortality at T3. Haematological indices showed significant (p<0.05) difference in packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) with all having significantly (p<0.05) higher values at T1. The study concluded that garlic (Allium sativum) extract administration in drinking water of broiler chicks improved growth performance and had no detrimental effect on haematological indices.