Browsing by Author "Sampath, W.W.H.A."

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    Study on Effect of Curry Leaves Supplementation with Broiler Feed on Growth Performance, Feed Intake and Feed Conversion Ratio of Broiler chicken
    (Uva Wellassa University of Srilanka, 2011) Sampath, W.W.H.A.; Nambapana, N.M.N.; Ganegoda, G.A.P.
    Note: See the PDF Version The broiler industry has developed all over the world during past few decades. When considering the production of 79.9 million broiler chicks in Sri Lanka in 2007, there is an increase in 2008, 2009 and 2010 years (Department of Animal Production and Health, 2010). The production of poultry meat and other poultry products have been drastically increased in Sri Lanka within last few years. The world broiler meat production in 2010 was 73 million metric tons (USDA-FAS, 2010). China, Brazil, European Union, Mexico are the main Broiler producers in the world (USDA-FAS, 2007). Poultry meat and other poultry products such as eggs, have a higher demand in Sri Lanka. When considering the consumption pattern of the meat in Sri Lanka, chicken meat (broiler meat) has the highest demand and broiler meat has been included in the gazette as an essential food item in Sri Lanka since 2007. The requirement of nutrients for broilers is higher than the other livestock animals. Proper nutrition and the better intensive management practices are essentials in poultry industry. Hence feed cost is major cost component in poultry industry and it is accounted up to 60%-70% of the total cost of production. The production of feed in 2009 for poultry in Sri Lanka was 454,000 Mt. However the feed price has increased after 2008 and the profit margin of the industry has gone down (Department of Animal Product and Health, 2009). To overcome this limitation in the industry, feed supplementation is done by the farmers/producers. The supplementation is done using low cost, available feed stuffs and without affecting the performance of birds and the quality of the meat. Performance of the animal can be increased by increasing the feed conversion by improving the internal environment modification. This can be achieved by inclusion of antibiotics into feed. Antibiotics are the chemicals those which antagonistic towards or destructive of life (The penguin encyclopedia of nutrition, 1985). Some of other feed ingredients are used to restrict or avoid the usage of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs). Some of those are probiotics, prebiotics, symbiotic, enzymes, acidifiers, antioxidants, phytogenic additives and herbal extracts (Pauline, 2009). The usage of natural plant based materials improves the feed intake, feed digestibility, feed conversion efficiency, the quality of the meat and reduce mortality (Hathurusinghe, 2008). Natural herbal materials increase colour lipid oxidation and reduce gut microbial content (Cross et al., 2007). Essential oils, organic acids and phytogenic compounds enhance production of gastric secretions, stimulate blood circulation and reduce level of pathogenic bacteria (Buchaan et al., 2008) Proceedings of the Research Symposium of Uva Wellassa University. December 15-16, 2011 This study was done to investigate the effect of curry leaves incorporated broiler feed on growth performance and feed conversion ratio of broiler chicken under field condition in Sri Lanka. For the study, the dried, blended curry leaves supplementation was used. The study hypothesized that dietary supplementation of curry leaves has anability to improve the health, performance and reduce the cost of production of broilers.