Effect Of Scent Leaf (Ocimum gratissimum) Meal Supplementation on Growth Performance and Physiological Parameters of Broiler Chickens

This study was conducted to determine the effect of varying Scent leaf meal inclusion on broiler chickens' growth performance and physiological responses. A total of 90 unsexed Arbor-acre dayold broiler chicks were used for the study. After brooding, in a completely randomized design, the chicks were allotted to three treatments: A, B, and C, with thirty chicks in each. Each treatment was further subdivided into three replicates comprising ten chicks. The chicks were housed in deep litter pens, and fed Scent leaf meal (Ocimum gratissimum) incorporated at 0% (control), 0.4%, and 0.6%, respectively for eight weeks. The results obtained from the experiment showed respiratory rates of 68.21, 67.89, and 68.00b/min, rectal temperatures of 42.14, 41.35, and 40.15 ºC, and pulse rates of 212.21, 208.33, and 200.18b/min for the treatments, respectively.Data obtained from this study on growth performance and physiological parameters were analyzed using general linear model of Minitab, 2017. Scent Leaf (Ocimum gratissimum) Meal Supplementation had a significant (P<0.05) effect on the respiratory rate of broiler chickens. The result showed that Scent Leaf (Ocimum gratissimum) Meal Supplementation had no significant (P>0.05) effect on broilers growth performance across all treatments; however, birds fed diets incorporated with 0.6% of SLM had a better FCR of 0.96, which led to a corresponding final weight gain of 2446.70g and the obsereved mortality rate was 0%. As the inclusion level of SLM increased in the diets, the growth performance parameters increased accordingly. The study recommends an inclusion level of 0.6% Scent leaf meal in the diets of broiler chickens.