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Effects of dietary organic acids and essential oils on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens

B. Isabel^*,1 and Y. Santos

^* Departamento de Producción Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; and Asesora en nutrición animal, Guadalajara. Spain

¹ Corresponding author: bisabelr{at}pdi.ucm.es

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of organic acid salts (calcium propionate and calcium formate) and plant extracts (a blend of clove and cinnamon essential oils) on growth performance and carcass quality characteristics in broilers. Four experimental diets were fed from 1 to 46 d of age: diet C (control) without any added compounds, diet A with organic acid salts (5,120 ppm of formic acid and 2,080 ppm of propionic acid), diet O with essential oils (clove and cinnamon) in the amount of 100 ppm, and diet AO with a blend of organic acid salts (5,120 ppm of formic acid and 2,080 ppm of propionic acid) and plant extracts (containing a blend of clove and cinnamon essential oils in the amount of 100 ppm). A total of 1,320 Ross chicks were distributed into 24 groups with 55 broilers in each, giving 6 replicates per treatment. Growth performance parameters (BW, ADG, and FCR) were evaluated at 15, 21, and 46 d. The tested supplements had no influence on BW or ADG, but the FCR were significantly worse for birds receiving diets A or AO for the whole experimental period compared with those given diets C or O. Carcass weight was not influenced by the supplements. However, breast weight (% of carcass) was higher in diet O than in diets C, A, or AO. It was concluded from this experiment that clove and cinnamon essential oils showed a potential advantage over calcium propionate and calcium formate for improving FCR and percentage of breast weight.

Key Words: broiler • clove • essential oil • cinnamon • organic acid