Okusanya, P. O. & Akinlade, O. O

Broiler chicken have been reported to have a short production cycle and high feed efficiency compared with other livestock because of the antibiotic growth promoters that were used to increase their production and health status. However, antibiotic residues and antimicrobial resistance has necessitated the used of herbs because they have appetizing, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. The research therefore evaluated the effect of herbal mixtures on performance of broiler chicken. One hundred and twenty chicks were used for the research. They were allotted to four treatments in a completely randomized design. Treatment (T) 1 received enrofloxacin, other received aqueous blend of; T2, 25 ml of garlic + 25 ml of ginger, T3 received 25 ml of garlic + 25 ml of scent leaf while T4 received 25 ml of ginger + 25 ml of scent leaf per liter of drinking water for four weeks. Data of water intake (WI) and feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG), final weight (FW) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded. The data were subjected to analysis of variance using SPSS. Significant differences (p<0.05) were observed in the WI, FI, WG, FW and FCR. T4 had the least FI (2751 g), FCR (1.99) and the highest FW (1560 g), WG (1380 g). From this result, it was concluded that addition of 25 ml of ABGI and 25 ml of ABSL per liter of drinking water of broiler chicken enhances their weight gain and better feed conversion ratio. Therefore, inclusion of the herbs aqueous blends is recommended. Keywords: Broilers, Herbal mixture, Growth performance, Weight gain0150