Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Cymbopogon Citratus Oil on the Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broiler Chicks

This study was carried out to determine the effect of dietary supplementation of Cymbopogon citratus oil (LGO) on the performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chicks. A total of 250 one-day-old chicks of Ross 308 strain were divided into 5 treatments with 5 replicate per treatment of 10 birds in a completely randomized design. The dietary treatments include a control diet (T1) with no Cymbopogon citratus oil (LGO). LGO was supplemented at 0.1%, 0.2 %, 0.3 % and 0.4 % in diets 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. The experiment lasted for 56 days; feed and water were administered ad libitum. Results obtained revealed that average daily weight gain (ADWG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily water consumption (ADWC) and feed:gain were significantly influenced by LGO (P˂0.05). Highest mortality was recorded in T1 (4.15 %) followed by T2 (1.71 %), T3 (0.50 %), none was recorded in T4 and T5 (P˂0.05). dressing percentage, carcass and relative organ weight were significantly different among the treatments (P˂0.05).There was no noticeable inflammation was observed on the liver, kidney spleen and other internal organs. It was concluded that LGO is rich in phytochemical constituents and can be safely included in the diets of broiler chicks up to 0.4 % level without causing any detrimental effect on the growth performance and carcass of birds.