Effect of Moringa oleifera leaf meal on growth performance, apparent digestibility, digestive organ size and carcass yield in broiler chickens

The effects of dietary supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) as a growth promoter on the growth performance, apparent digestibility, digestive organ size, and carcass yield of broiler chickens were investigated. A total of 2400 one-day-old Cobb-500 broiler chicks of mixed sex were randomly allocated to five dietary treatments in six replications of 80 birds per pen. Fresh, green and undamaged mature M. oleifera leaves were collected from a number of trees from the same village to avoid variations in soil micronutrient content; and were grinded to produce MOLM. Dietary treatments were as follows: positive control (+C) with 668 g salinomycin and 500 g zinc bacitracin per kg of feed; MOLMlow (ML; 1, 3 and 5); MOLMmedium (MM; 3, 9 and 15 g); MOLMhigh (MH; 5, 15 and 25 g)] per kg of feed; and a negative control (−C; without supplementation). Diets were fed for 35 d in starter, grower and finisher phases; and birds were provided feed and water ad libitum. At 35 d of age, 12 birds per treatment, two from each replicate pen, were randomly selected, electrically stunned at 70 V and killed by cervical dislocation for determination of carcass and organ weights. Bird weight at 7 and 21 d of age, birds fed MH had the highest BW, while +C had the lowest (P<0.05). No significant differences were observed in FI between treatments during periods from 0 to 21 d and 0 to 35 d; FCR was the highest (P<0.05) in birds supplemented with MOLM, except for MM; and was the lowest in those on the +C. Birds in ML had the highest thigh weights, and MH had the lowest (P<0.05). Gizzard erosion score was the lowest in MH and the highest in MM (P<0.001). Mortality rate was the highest (P<0.05) in MH from day 22 to 28 and was the lowest in ML and MM (1.3% vs. 0.21%); and was mainly due to sudden death. There were no significant differences in apparent digestibility for ash, ether extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) among treatments. It was concluded that supplementation of M. oleifera leaf meal up to 25 g per kg of feed did not impair nutrient utilization efficiency, but enhanced the bird's genetic potential for growth performance.