EFFECT OF CINNAMON OIL AND COATED SODIUM BUTYRATE SUPPLEMENTATION ON COST EFFECTIVENESS IN BROILER PRODUCTION

Abstract

A feeding trial was carried out with 216 day-old Vencobb-400 broiler chicks distributed to six experimental groups with six replicates, each replicate containing six chicks, in deep litter for 35 days. The experimental groups were fed with control ration (T₁), ration with oxytetracycline (OTC) at 50 mg/kg (T₂), ration with cinnamon oil (CO) at 250 mg per kg and coated sodium butyrate either at 0.09 (T₃) or 0.18 (T₄) per cent levels and ration with CO at 500 mg per kg and CSB either at 0.09 (T₅) or 0.18 (T₆) per cent levels. The coated sodium butyrate used in this experiment was encapsulated with a vegetable fatty acid containing 30% sodium butyrate. The economics of raising broilers up to 35 days with different levels of CO with CSB supplementation was calculated based on the actual cost of feed per kg live weight gain. The increase in the revenue was Rs. 2.79 per kg live weight in group supplemented with CO at 250 mg per kg and CSB at 0.09 per cent (T₃) when compared to control. Returns were found to be better in group supplemented with CSB @ 0.09 per cent and CO @ 250 mg per kg than the dietary oxytetracycline group. A decrease (Rs.0.43) in the revenue of per kg live weight gain was recorded in T₃ (CO @ 250 mg per kg and CSB @ 0.09%) when compared to antibiotic group (T₂) but this decrease was marginal and not significant. This is an important observation in this study as to the industry’s attempts to avoid use of antibiotics in feed.