Effect of aqueous ginger (Zingiber officinale) extract on carcass characteristics and haemato-biochemical profile of broiler chickens

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the effect of aqueous ginger (Zingiber officinale) extract on carcass characteristics and haemato-biochemical profile of broiler chickens. One hundred ninety-two broiler (Vencobb-430Y) chicks were uniformly divided into four treatment groups of 48 birds per treatment. The duration of experiment was of 42 days. The dietary treatments were T1: Control diet; T2: Control diet + 50 ml aqueous extract of ginger per 1000 ml of drinking water per day; T3: Control diet + 100 ml aqueous extract of ginger per 1000 ml of drinking water per day; T4: Control diet + 200 ml aqueous extract of ginger per 1000 ml of drinking water per day. The carcass characteristics, haematology and blood metabolites were studied at the end of the experiment. Results revealed that there was significant (p>0.05) improvement in dressing percentage in broiler chickens supplemented with aqueous extract of ginger. However, there was no impact (p>0.05) on organ weights of liver, heart, gizzard, kidney and spleen among the treatments. There was a significant increase (p