Economic impact on dietary supplementation of Kappaphycus alvarezii (marine macroalgae) in commercial broiler chicken

Abstract

The principal objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential benefits of Kappaphycus alvarezii (KPA) supplementation on economics of broiler production. A total of 240 day-old Ven Cobb 400 chicks were randomly allocated into four dietary treatments: T0 (control), T1 (basal diet supplemented with Bacitracin Methylene Disalicylate at 50 mg/kg), T2 (basal diet + 1% KPA), and T3 (basal diet + 2% KPA). Each treatment consisted of six replicates with 10 birds per replicate and the experiment was conducted for 35 days. Economic analysis revealed that inclusion of Kappaphycus alvarezii in broiler diets influenced production economics significantly. Although the overall cost of production was highest in the 2% KPA group, the cost per kilogram of live body weight was lowest in the 1% KPA group, indicating superior economic efficiency at this inclusion level. The findings suggest that Kappaphycus alvarezii can improve cost-effectiveness in broiler production and may serve as a sustainable and natural alternative to antibiotic growth promoters.