Effect of Tea Extract and Probiotics on Growth Performance and Carcass Yield of Broiler Chickens

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have emerged as a result of the sharp rise in the usage of antibiotics as a necessary component of poultry and cattle production. Green tea, which has antioxidant properties, and probiotics, which are living microbial substances, are thought to be suitable alternatives to antibiotics in chicken diets since they have been linked to improved bird development and health. Aims: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of tea extracts and probiotics on the growth performance and carcass yield of broiler chickens. Place and Duration of Study:The experiment was performed at Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences,Khulna Agricultural University, Khulna-9100, Bangladesh during the period from January 2023 and April 2023. Methodology: A total of 200 one day old Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly allotted to 5 groups (40 chicks in each group). All were kept in cages for a period of 5 weeks. Dietary treatments used in this experiment were antibiotic free group (basal diet as a control), antibiotic-added group, tea extract group, probiotic group and a combination of tea extract and probiotic group. A starter diet from day 1 to 21 and a grower diet from day 22 to 35 were fed. Weekly assessments of growth performance parameters were documented, and on the 35th day, carcass yield were measured. Results:The highest body weight gain was observed significantly (P<0.05) in Group E which was 2200gm in comparison to other groups. Total feed consumed by birds was highest in group D (3360gm) whereas the lowest feed consumed in group B treated by antibiotics (3198gm). Significant differences (P<0.05) were observed among feed consumption of different groups. However, the best feed conversion ratio (FCR) was observed in Group E (1.48) followed by Group D (1.58), Group C (1.60), Group A (1.61) and the worst FCR was recorded in group B (1.64) at 35th days. Among the groups; group E obtained the highest dressed weight followed by D, C and A whereas the lowest dressed weight was reported in B group. Conclusion: Hence, the results suggested that better growth performance could be achieved in broilers supplemented with probiotics and tea extract and these can be used as herbal growth promoter.