Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Neem Leaf Powder on Performance of Commercial Broilers

Abstract

The broiler industry has long relied on subclinical antibiotics to improve growth and feed efficiency, but rising concerns about residues and antimicrobial resistance have led to restrictions on their use. Consequently, there is increasing interest in safe, cost-effective alternatives for producing residue-free broiler chickens. The present research was carried out to ascertain the effects of dietary supplementation of Neem Leaf Powder (NLP) on the performance of commercial broilers. One hundred and forty-four (144) straight-run day-old commercial broiler chicks were distributed randomly into six treatment groups; each treatment group consisted of four replicates, and each had 6 chicks, leading to 24 chicks per treatment. The experimental diets consisted of T1 (basal diet without NLP), T2 (basal diet with NLP at 2 g/kg of feed), T3 (basal diet with NLP at 4 g/kg of feed), T4 (basal diet with NLP at 6 g/kg of feed),                   T5 (basal diet with NLP at 8 g/kg of feed), and T6 (basal diet with NLP at 10 g/kg of feed). The mean body weight (g) at the 6th week of age was non-significant among each other but a numerically higher body weight was observed in birds supplemented with 0.20% NLP (T2) than the other treatment groups. The total feed consumption in the pre-starter phase showed significant (P<0.05) differences among all the treatment groups. However, feed consumption in starter and finisher phases was also non-significant among each other. The overall feed conversion ratio was significantly (P<0.05) improved in the birds fed with a diet containing 0.20% NLP. The highest return over feed cost (ROFC) was obtained in the birds fed with the T2 diet followed by T1 T3, T4, T5 and T6 diets, respectively. Therefore, it may be concluded that Neem Leaf Powder at a level of 0.20% (i.e., 2 g/kg feed) can be incorporated as a growth promoter in pre-starter and starter diets to enhance and economize the overall performance of commercial broilers.