The Effect of Moringa oleifera Leaf Meal Supplementation on Growth and Health of Village Chickens

Objectives and Study Design: In a quest to intervene in high mortality incidences and poor growth among village chickens in Zambia, two experiments were carried out to study the effect of Moringa oleifera leaf meal supplementation on growth and health of village chickens. In experiment one, a total of sixty village chickens were blocked by body weight and were randomly assigned to receive isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets containing 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% Moringa leaf meal on weight basis. The experimental design was a 4x3 randomized complete block design. Individual body weights were taken on a weekly basis, while faecal samples were collected fortnightly for digestibility and microbial load assessments, using proximate analysis and plate count, respectively. In experiment 2, a total of 60 village chickens were divided equally between sex and type into 12 groups and assigned at random to three isonitrogenous and isocaloric dietary treatments containing 5%, 10% and 15% Moringa leaf meal on weight basis. The experimental design was a 3x2x2 factorial design with three Moringa leaf meal levels in the diets, sex (male or female) and chicken type (large or small) as the factors. Blood samples were taken from the wing veins using sterile needles for antibody titre level analysis using the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay method. Results: Results from experiment one revealed that growth were 41% and 49% (P0.05) between treatment means for antibody titre levels before and 7 days after vaccinating against Newcastle disease. In both scenarios, the MIO treatment, however, had antibody titres that were at higher and insignificant (P<0.05) levels. Differences (P<0.05) occurred 14 days after the vaccination, with MIO having the highest antibody titre levels. This explains why the chickens in both experiments were able to resist infections and had less mortality than those on other treatments. Conclusion: The results from the two experiments indicate that 10% inclusion of Moringa leaf meal in the diet promotes growth and optimum utilization of the natural antimicrobials/herbal medicines.