INFLUENCE OF ADDING PROPOLIS AND / OR WHEY ON PRODUCTIVE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE IN BROILER CHICKS

Due to the prohibition of antibiotic use, attributed to their adverse health effects on both poultry and humans, researchers and specialists in poultry nutrition and management have been prompted to explore natural alternatives aimed at enhancing broiler chicken performance. The purpose of the current study was to ascertain how broiler chickens responded to propolis and/or liquid whey as natural supplements. 180 one-day-old unsexed broiler chicks (Ross 308) were divided into 5 groups at random (3 replicates each, 12 birds / replicate): The first treatment was fed basal diet without any additives and served as a control. The second treatment was fed the basal diet supplemented with propolis powder 5 g per kg of diet. The third treatment was fed the basal diet and their water was supplemented with propolis extract (10 ml/L). The forth treatment was fed the basal diet and their water was supplemented with liquid whey (10 ml/L). The fifth treatment was fed the basal diet and their water was supplemented with propolis extract + liquid whey (10 ml/L in drinking water from each additive). The findings showed that adding propolis and whey in individual forms enhanced the feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed intake (FI), final body weight (FBW) and body weight gain (BWG) of broilers. There were no discernible variations in carcass characteristics across all experimental treatments (P>0.05). For the blood analysis, the inclusion of additives significantly (P<0.05) increased phosphorus, total protein, calcium, albumin and Vitamin C and decreased total lipids, glucose, cholesterol and Heterophils/Lymphocytes H/L ratio. Moreover, improved tibiotarsal strength was observed in propolis and whey treatments in comparison with the control group (P<0.05). Therefore, it can be concluded that propolis and liquid whey could be successfully used in separate forms as natural supplementations in reinforcing broilers’ performance without any negative effects on birds’ carcass traits.