Effects of Feeding Mentha Pulegium L. as an Alternative to Antibiotics on Performance of Broilers

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of powdered Mentha pulegiumL. (pennyroyal; medicinal plant) obtained from its dried aerial part on performance and carcass traits, of broilers. 200 broiler chicks (Ross 308) were used in a completely randomized design in five treatments and four replicates (10 birds per replicate) for 42 days. The treatment groups consisted of a control group (C) with no pennyroyal and Antibiotic supplementation,(A) with no pennyroyal and contain 300 mg/Kg antibiotic virginiamicin and B, D and E experimental groups with different levels of pennyroyal (1, 2 and 3%, respectively). There were significant differences between treatments on performance and carcass traits of broilers (p<0.05). The lowest amount of daily weight gain (43.50 g) and the highest feed conversion (1.75) were observed in the control group, whereas the highest amount of daily weight gain (49.9 g), the lowest feed conversion (1.62), and the highest breast percent (23.08) were observed in Group A. There was no significant difference between Groups A and D in the yield trait. The overall results showed that the use of 2% of pennyroyal medicinal plant in the diets of broilers has positive effects on their performance and carcass traits.