Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of ‌‌Ziziphora (Thymyus valgaris), Oregano ‌(Oreganum valgare) and Peppermint (LamiaceaeMentha‌ piperita) on performance [feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR)] and carcass characterization of broiler chickens. 240 ROSS strain broiler chicks were selected and divided into 4 treatments and 3 replicates based on completely randomized design. The groups comprised group 1 or control (fed basal diet, without medicinal plant supplementation), group 2 (fed 1%‌‌ Ziziphora, 0.5% Oregano and 0.5% Peppermint), group 3 (fed 1%‌‌ Oregano, 0.5 Ziziphora and 0.5% Peppermint) and group 4 (fed 1%‌‌ Peppermint, 0.5% Ziziphora and 0.5% Oregano). Significant effects of dietary medicinal plants mixture on performance and carcass quality were observed (P<0.05). The highest feed intake (163.53 g) was recorded for group 2, while the highest daily weight gain (166.53 g), best feed conversion ratio (FCR: 1.91), highest carcass yield (70.76% of body weight), lowest abdominal fat (2.34%) and lowest gastrointestinal weight (6.34%) were recorded for group 3, in comparison with other experimental groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of 2% from this combination of medicinal plants (1%‌‌ Oregano, 0.5% Ziziphora and 0.5% Peppermint) caused performance and carcass quality improvement via more weight gain increase in carcass yield and then decreases abdominal fat deposition.

Key words: Dietary supplementation, medicinal plants, carcass characterization, broiler chickens.