ADMINISTRATION OF AQUEOUS GINGER EXTRACT: EFFECT ON THE HAEMATOLOGY OF THREE STRAINS OF BROILER CHICKENS

Abstract

The haematology of broiler chickens administered varying levels of ginger extract was investigated using 270 chicks of the Arbor acre Plus, Cobb 500 and Ross 308 strains. The birds were randomly divided into nine groups of 30 each using a 3 X 3 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design. This makes up nine treatments of 30 birds with 3 replicates of 10 chicks. The factors were 3 levels of ginger via drinking water (0, 4 and 6%) and three strains (Arbor acre Plus, Cobb 500 and Ross 308). The 0% ginger were administered a levelled table spoonful of Oxytetracycline® in 2 litres of water following the manufacturer's recommendation. A single phase diet (22.34% CP; 2948.05 Kcal/Kg ME) was fed to the birds for 8 weeks. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were randomly collected from the veins of the bird for haematology evaluation. Results showed a significant (P<0.05) strain effect in haemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume, and red blood cells count of the birds; Arbor acre plus birds had better values of the parameters (18.00, 38.33, 2.52) than the other breed of birds. Level of inclusion of the aqueous ginger extract also significantly (P<0.05) influence the packed cell volume and red blood cells count of the birds with those given 6% aqueous ginger extract having better haemoglobin concentration and red blood cells count (17.17, 2.70). The study shows that administration of aqueous ginger extract did not negatively affect the haematological indices studied suggesting that it could help in conferring immunity on broiler birds.