Integrative Feeding Strategies with Essential Oils and Probiotics to Improve Raw Meat Quality and Carcass Traits in Broiler Chickens

Essential oils (EOs) have gained recognition as promising alternatives to antibiotics due to their positive effects on bird growth performance, enhanced meat quality, and improved overall health, without producing the negative consequences associated with antibiotics. This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation of tea tree (TTEO) and thyme (TEO) EOs, individually or in combination with the probiotic BioPlus 2b (Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis), on poultry broiler performance, including the meat quality. A total of 240 ROSS 308 broilers were assigned to eight dietary treatments over a 35-day trial. Parameters such as body weight (BW), feed conversion ratio (FCR), carcass portion, drip loss, and meat pH were evaluated. TTEO had a significant (p ≤ 0.05) impact on final carcass and breast portion, while in combination with probiotics, specifically TTEO with BioPlus significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced meat drip loss. GC-MS analysis identified terpinen-4-ol and γ-terpinene as the major constituents of TTEO, and thymol and carvacrol as the major constituents of TEO. In conclusion, combinations of TTEO, TEO, and probiotics can have beneficial effects on chicken raw meat quality, providing a complementary benefit to the industry and representing a viable alternative to conventional agents.