ABSTRACT:
The use of antibiotics as feed additives in broiler chicks is risky due to antibiotic residues in animal products and the potential evolving of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Consequently, the use of antibiotics in poultry diets has been reduced and medicinal plants are becoming more important due to their varied medicinal properties, economy and safety, The aim of the present study was to evaluate Aloe vera leaves as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoter in broiler birds on the basis of the growth performance parameters, hematological, biochemical and immunological parameters. Day old Ven Cobb 400 strain broiler chicks (n126) from the same hatch were procured from M/S Indian Broiler Group, Baldeobagh, Rajnandgaon. For growth performance, haematological and biochemical studies 90 chicks were randomly allocated to 3 treatment eroups of 30 chicks in each, having 3 replicates of 10 chicks in each group. For immunological studies another 36 birds were ussed. The treatment groups comprised the following: TI - control (basal feed). T2 = basal feed + BMD (antibiotic growth promoter), T3= basal feed + Aloe vera leaf juice (15ml/L) in drinking water. The above treatment was given continuously for 42 days (6 weeks) and the weekly body weight, feed intake and body weight gains and FCR of different groups were recorded/ calculated. On day 42, blood was collected from six birds of each experimental group to determine the hematological and biochemical parameters of birds. All the data collected were expressed as mean + SE and were analyzed by one-way analysis variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncan's Multiple Range Test. Results of the study indicated that the overall live weight of birds of group T3 (2103.3) at 6° week was significantly higher as compared to TI (1612.6) & T2 (1752.8g) groups. The overall feed intake of birds of group T3 (3499.67 g) group at 6" week was significantly higher as compared to TI (3270.40g) & T2 (3347.20) groups. However, the overall feed conversion ratio of group T3 (1.70) at sixth week was significantly lower in comparison to standard (1.96) and control (2.09) groups. The broiler birds supplemented with Aloe vera showed significant stimulation of both cell mediated immunity and humoral immunity as compared to standard and control groups. Based on the above results, it may be concluded that the supplementation of Aloe vera leaf juice in drinking water (15ml/L) could be beneficial for improving broiler performance and gives an indication that they could be used to replace antibiotic growth promoters while avoiding the development of drug resistance associated with the antibiotic growth promoters.
Cite this article:
Chandrakar and Koley (2016). Evaluation of Aloe vera Leaves as Alternative to Antibiotic Growth Promoter in Broiler Birds. Journal of Ravishankar University (Part-B: Science), 29(1), pp.78-79.