Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Hubbard Broiler Chickens Administered Varying Dosages of Aqueous Extract of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) Pulp

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the growth performance and carcass characteristics of broilers supplemented with varying dosages of aqueous tamarind extract in a drinking water. A total of 300 day –old chicks were randomly distributed into four treatment groups, replicated 5 times with 15 broilers per replicate. The control group was given 0g/5L tamarind aqueous extract while the other groups received 36g/5L, 72g/5L and 108g/5L tamarind aqueous extract in drinking water respectively. Feed and water were provided ad libitum throughout the experimental period. The growth performance of broilers was evaluated based on their feed consumption, live weight, feed conversion ratio (FCR) while the carcass characteristics was evaluated based on the dressing weight, slaughter weight and carcass weight. The result of the growth performance showed that there was no significance difference (p>0.05) between the growth parameters and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the broiler chickens. The highest feed intake was recorded in T4 administered 108g/5L of Aqueous extract of tamarind pulp (AETP) which also recorded the highest average weight gain (901.37g). There was also no significance difference (p>0.05) in the carcass characteristics of the broiler chickens. It was concluded that up to 108g/5L of drinking water can serve as a natural alternative to antibiotics for optimal growth of the birds.