Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility in Broiler Chickens Fed with an Encapsulated Blend of a Phytogenic Feed Additive

Phytogenic Feed Additives (PFAs) from herbs, spices, and derived natural or corresponding synthetic chemically defined flavorings have gained momentum due to the rising worldwide ban of Antibiotic Growth Promoters (AGPs) in food animals. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a PFA in broiler chickens diets on growth performance and digestibility parameters. A total of 880 male one-day-old broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments, each with 20 replicates and 22 chickens per replicate. A corn-soybean-based diet was fed for 42 days as a control diet without PFA, and a treatment diet containing a blend of Carvacrol, Thymol, Carvone, Methyl salicylate, and Menthol encapsulated (as PFAs) at 65 g/ton of feed. Chickens supplemented with PFA had a 3.6% higher Body Weight Gain (BWG) during the starter phase (0 to 14 days) than those in the control group (25.9 versus 25.0 g/d) and a 2.9% reduced Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) during the same period, compared to the control group (1.34 versus 1.38). Improved FCR (1.95 versus 2.01) was recorded in the PFA supplemented broiler chickens during the finisher phase (35 to 42 days) as well as throughout the experimental period from 1 to 42 days, compared to the control group (1.60 versus 1.62). In addition, the apparent ileal protein digestibility improved by 3.9% during 42 days, compared to the control group (74.3 vs 71.5%; P = 0.0428). Enhanced ileal protein digestibility and a reduced FCR suggested a cost-effective potential of PFA to improve broiler chickens’ production performance.