Effect of coconut shell extract on the growth performance and some haemato-biochemical parameters of broiler chicken

Abstract

This experiment was carried out at Sumitra Research Institute, Gujarat, India to evaluate the effect of coconut shell extract on the growth performance and some haemato-biochemical parameters of broiler chicken. 240 – 1 day old Hubbard broiler chicks of mixed sex were randomly distributed to six treatments with six replicates containing ten birds each in a completely randomized design. Birds in treatment 1(T1) was fed standard diet with no coconut shell extract; T2: standard diet with 1.0 mL coconut shell extract per liter of water; T3: standard diet with 2.0 mL coconut shell extract per liter of water and T4: standard diet with 3.0 mL coconut shell extract per liter of water. Standard diet was formulated according to the nutritional needs of broilers. The study lasted for fifty-six day and birds were offered fresh clean water and feed ad libitum. Phenols (410.3 mg/g-1), tannins (98.21 mg/g-1), alkaloids (100.6 mg/g-1), flavonoids (309.5 mg/g-1), saponins (71.4 mg/g-1) and steroids (28.7 mg/g-1) were identified coconut shell extract. Overall weight gains of birds fed T3 (2506.3 g) and T4 (2527.6 g) had a numerical and a remarkable significant improvement if feed conversion ratio from 1.92 to 1.59 compared to T2 (2210.0 g) and T1 (1996.1 g). Mortality was only recorded among birds in T1 (2.00 %) (p < 0.05). Pack cell volume, red blood cell, white blood cell, haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentrations were influenced (p < 0.05) by the treatments. However, values were within the normal range for healthy birds. Total protein, albumin and globulin values were higher in T2, T3 and T4 except for alanine phosphatase, aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase values which were not significantly (p > 0.05) different among the treatment. Total cholesterol was higher (p < 0.05) in T1 relative to the other treatments. It was concluded that coconut shell extract can be fed to broilers up to 3.0 mL without causing any negative effect on the health status of animals.