PERFORMANCE OF BROILER FINISHER BIRDS SERVED ALOE VERA GEL EXTRACT SUPPLEMENT

Abstract

A 4-week study was conducted to investigate the physiological response of boiler finishers to oral supplementation with aloe vera gel extract (AVGE) using one hundred and twenty(120) four -week-old unsexed broiler birds . The birds were randomly divided into five groups and assigned to five treatments of 24 birds each in a completely randomized design (CRD). Birds on treatments I, 2, 3, 4, and 5 received ordinary water, Vitaliye, 10%, 20%, and 30% aqueous AVGE, respectively. Results showed that treatments had no significant (p>0.05) effects on average daily weight gain, average daily feed intake, average daily water intake and protein efficiency ratio, but had significant (p<0.05) effects on final body weight, feed conversion ratio , cost of feed per kilogram gain , and mortality %. Treatments also had significant (p<0.05) effects on apparent retentions of crude protein, ether extract, crude fibre, and nitrogen-free extract, but had no significant (p>0.05) effect on apparent retention of dry matter. Based on the results obtained in the present study, it was concluded that oral administration of aloe vera gel extract supplement to broiler finishers ' enhanced their growth performance, especially at the 20% inclusion level(0.Slitre of AVGE + 4 litres of water).