Influence of dietary Azolla on growth and performance parameters in commercial broilers chicken

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of dietary supplementation of dried Azolla at different inclusion levels on production performance parameters of commercial broiler chickens. A total of 250-day-old broiler chicks were randomly divided into five treatment groups: T1 (Control: 100% commercial feed), T2 (1% Azolla + 99% commercial feed), T3 (3% Azolla + 97% commercial feed), T4 (5% Azolla + 95% commercial feed), and T5 (7% Azolla + 93% commercial feed). All birds were reared under standard management practices for the duration of the experiment. Significant differences were observed among the treatment groups for body weight, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, and livability. Among all treatments, broilers fed 5% Azolla with commercial feed (T4) demonstrated the best overall production performance. In conclusion, dietary inclusion of dried Azolla, particularly at 5%, can effectively enhance growth and production parameters in commercial broiler chickens.