Background: Moringa leaves have wide range of medicinal value including antimicrobial property. Therefore, it could be an alternative of antibiotic growth promoters in poultry but the presence of phytate and other anti-nutrients can reduce the bioavailability of certain nutrients. Enzymes may reduce anti-nutrients effect, break down non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs), reduce intestinal viscosity and ultimately improve digestibility of nutrients by improving gut performance. An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal with multienzyme on the performance, carcass characteristics and economics of broiler chicks. Methods: Day-old, 150 broiler chicks (Vencobb-400) were randomly allotted to five treatment groups. The T1 i.e. control group was fed on basal diet, while, T2, T3, T4 and T5 treatment groups were supplemented with 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% of moringa leaf meal in combination with multienzyme @ 50g/100kg feed in the basal broiler starter and finisher ration, respectively.Result: Body weight gain was higher (P less than 0.01) in broilers fed diet supplemented with 1.5% Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) and multienzyme at 3 or 6 weeks of age. The best feed conversion ratio (FCR) at the starter phase was recorded in the T2 group and over the entire period of the trial T4 treatment group had the best FCR. Significant increase in dressing yield percent and relative weight of giblet was observed in broilers fed diet with 1.5% level of moringa leaf meal and multienzyme. Supplementation of MOLM with multienzyme was profitable in terms of reduction in feed cost per kg gain. It was concluded that supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal @ 1.5% with multienzyme at 50g/100Kg dose in the diet was effective in improving the performance and net profit in broiler chicks.
Effect of Feeding Moringa oleifera Leaf Meal as Feed Additive on the Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broiler Chicks