EFFECT OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTATION WITH SCENT (Ocimum gratissium) AND MINT (Mentha piperita) LEAF MEALS ON PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF BROILER CHICKENS

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of Ocimum gratissimum (scent leaf) and Mentha piperita (mint leaf) supplementation on the performance characteristics of broiler chickens. One hundred and sixty 4 weeks old Arbor-Acre broilers were randomly allotted to four treatments and four replicates of ten birds per replicate in a

completely randomized design. Four experimental diets were formulated. Diet 1, which was designated as control with no leaf meal supplementation, diet 2 has 2.5g/kg Mentha piperita leaf meal (MPLM)+ 2.5g/kg Ocimum gratissimum leaf meal (OGLM), diet 3 has 5.0g/kg MPLM+ 5.0g/kg OGLM while diet 4 has 7.5g/kg

MPLM + 7.5g/kg OGLM . The experiment lasted for 28 days. Growth performance parameters such as body weight, weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured. Birds fed diets supplemented with Ocimum gratissimum and Mentha piperita exhibited significantly improved final body weight, weight gain compared to the control. The best performance was observed in Treatment 2, with the final body weight of 2057.5g and FCR of 2.05. These findings suggest that dietary inclusion of Ocimum gratissimum and Mentha piperita at moderate levels can enhance broiler growth efficiency.