Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Aloe vera and Lactobacillus acidophilus on Growth Performance, Nutrient Utilization and Carcass Characteristics Of Broiler Birds

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Aloe vera and Lactobacillus acidophilus on performance of broiler birds. Two hundred one day old broiler chicks were randomly distributed into five treatments groups: 1) basal diet without any supplementation (control); 2) basal diet with BMD @0.5g/kg of feed(AB) ; 3) basal diet with 0.5% Aloe vera powder (AV) ;4) basal diet with Lactobacillus acidophilus(LAB) and 5)basal diet with 0.5% Aloe vera plus Lactobacillus(ALVAB). Final body weight was tended to be higher (P=0.08) in treatment groups than control. Improved feed conversion efficiency (P<0.05) observed in all AV, LAB and ALVAB groups compared to the control. Significant differences (P>0.05) were not observed on the digestibilities of nutrients among the treatments. Carcass characteristics showed no significant difference between the treatment groups. It is concluded that aloe vera (0.5%) and Lactobacillus acidophilus can be used as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters to improve performance of broiler.