Assessment of nutrient digestibility in broiler finisher ration supplemented with different levels of bael (Aegle marmelos) fruit powder and probiotics

A nutrient digestibility trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementation of bael (Aegle marmelos) fruit powder and probiotics on the nutrient digestibility of finisher ration of broiler chickens. A total of 192-day-old Vencobb 430 Y broiler chicks were randomly divided into six dietary treatments (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6), each having four replicates with eight birds per replicate. The birds were fed with a basal diet (T1), basal diet + 0.1 per cent bael fruit powder (BFP) (T2), basal diet + 0.2 per cent BFP (T3), basal diet + 0.1 per cent BFP + 0.01 per cent L. plantarum (1 × 109 CFU/Kg diet) (T4), basal diet + 0.2 per cent BFP + 0.01 per cent L. plantarum (T5), and diet with 0.01 per cent L. plantarum (T6), respectively. All the birds were fed as per BIS (2007) recommendations. One bird from each group was selected randomly for the three-day metabolism trial conducted on the 42nd day of the experiment. The results of the study revealed that supplementation of bael fruit powder and probiotics at different combinations showed a significant (P<0.05) increase in ether extract and NFE digestibility compared to the control. The dietary treatments did not affect the dry matter, crude protein, crude fibre and organic matter digestibility in birds. Further, it was concluded that 0.1 per cent bael fruit powder supplementation in finisher ration showed better digestibility of nutrients in broiler chicken. Keywords: Bael fruit, L. plantarum, nutrient digestibility, broiler finisher ration