THE EFFECT OF ROSEMARY (SALVIA ROSMARINUS) SUPPLEMENTED DIET ON REPRODUCTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE TRAITS OF LIBYAN LOCAL PIGEON

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of rosemary leaves powder supplement on reproductive and productive performance of local pigeon. Thirty pairs of Libyan local pigeons were randomly allocated into three groups, each with 10 replicates. Rosemary leaves powder (RLP) was added to isonitrogenous and isoenergetic ration at 0 % (control, C), 0.5 % (T1) or 1 % (T2). The experiment lasted for a complete breeding cycle. RLP did not affect egg weight, egg number or incubation period. Egg volume (13.82, 10.73 and 11.42 cm3), egg hatchability (100, 55.56 and 50.00 %) and hatching weight (16.63, 14.91 and 14.89 g) were higher in C group in comparison with T1 and T2, respectively (p < 0.05). Egg surface area (30.25, 26.30 and 27.74 cm2) and egg width (2.67, 2.44 and 2.53 cm) were higher in C than in T1 (p < 0.05) and tended to be higher than T2 (p > 0.05). Egg length, egg shape index, fertility rate and pre-weaning survival rate tended to decrease with the increased RLP inclusion rate; however, these differences were not significant (p > 0.05). Squab weight at weaning was lower in C than in T2 group, (310.35, 312.08, 337.98 g for C, T1, and T2, respectively) (p < 0.05). Peroxide value of fresh meat tended to decrease in T2 compared to T1 or C groups (0.6, 0.49, 0.37 meq/kg for C, T1 and T2, respectively) (p > 0.05). Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in fresh meat (0.16, 0.16, 0.09 mg MDA/kg) and blood (1.66, 0.83, 0.61 mg MDA/L) for C, T1 and T2, respectively, was lower in T2 compared to C group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, adding RLP to feed negatively affected the reproductive performance despite expected improvement of the productive performance and oxidative status in pigeons.