Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Azolla Meal on Performance of Commercial Broiler Chicken

Authors

  • Avinash G. Mali Poultry Research Station, Veterinary & Animal Science Research & Extension Unit, Kamdhenu University, Anand-388110, Gujarat, India
  • Fulabhai P. Savaliya Poultry Research Station, Veterinary & Animal Science Research & Extension Unit, Kamdhenu University, Anand-388110, Gujarat, India
  • Chintan B. Gameti Poultry Research Station, Veterinary & Animal Science Research & Extension Unit, Kamdhenu University, Anand-388110, Gujarat, India
  • Atul B. Patel Poultry Research Station, Veterinary & Animal Science Research & Extension Unit, Kamdhenu University, Anand-388110, Gujarat, India
  • Nikesh J. Bhagora Poultry Research Station, Veterinary & Animal Science Research & Extension Unit, Kamdhenu University, Anand-388110, Gujarat, India
  • Pravin M. Lunagariya Livestock Research Station, Veterinary & Animal Science Research & Extension Unit, Anand-388110, Gujarat, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48165/ijvsbt.21.2.05

Keywords:

Alternative protein source, Azolla meal, Commercial broiler chicken, Growth performance

Abstract

An experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of Azolla meal on performance of commercial broiler chicken. A total of 144 straight-run day-old chicks were randomly assigned to six treatments, each consisting of 4 replicates with 6 chicks totalling 24 chicks per treatment. Birds in treatment T1 were fed with control basal diet, and those in T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 received control basal diet supplemented with 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% Azolla meal, respectively. Body weight (BW6) and body weight gain (BWG0-6) of birds fed with diet containing 5% Azolla meal (T2) up to 6th week of age were significantly (p<0.05) higher as compared to birds fed with control diet and diet containing higher levels of Azolla meal. Total feed consumption (TFC0-6) of broiler birds fed with diet containing 5% & 10% Azolla meal was at par and was significantly (p<0.05) higher as compared to birds fed with control (T1) diet and diet containing 15, 20 & 25% Azolla meal. Feed conversion ratio (FCR0-6) of control (T1) diet was improved significantly (p<0.05) as compared to birds fed with diet containing higher levels of Azolla meal. No bird died during the experiment and ROFC was higher in control diet than other treatment diets. Based on the study it can be concluded that supplementation of Azolla meal up to 5% in diet has a good effect on body weight gain without any deleterious effect on chicken, but due to reduced ROFC for high cost of Azolla meal, it is not economically viable to use.

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Published

2025-02-26

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 2 (2025): The Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology (IJVSBT) (Mar-Apr) 2025

Section

Research Article

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

G. Mali, A., P. Savaliya, F., B. Gameti, C., B. Patel, A., J. Bhagora, N., & M. Lunagariya, P. (2025). Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Azolla Meal on Performance of Commercial Broiler Chicken . Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology, 21(2), 23-27. https://doi.org/10.48165/ijvsbt.21.2.05
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