Blood profile and carcass traits of Kadaknath broilers fed on various levels of azolla (Azolla pinnata)
Keywords:
Azolla, Blood, Broiler, Carcass, KadaknathAbstract
The present study examined the blood composition and carcass traits of Kadaknath broilers raised in the Poultry Research Centre, School of Agriculture, ITM University, Gwalior, between September and November 2023 for a total of 56 days. They were fed varied amounts of azolla (Azolla pinnata) powder. A total of 120 Kadaknath day-old-chicks were divided into 30 flocks. The flocks were randomly allotted to five treatments with six replications. They were housed in a deep litter system with eight hours of darkness and sixteen hours of light. Starter (week 1; 23% CP and 3000 kcal/kg ME), grower (weeks 2–6; 22% and 3100 kcal/kg), and finisher (weeks 7-8; 20% CP and 3200 kcal/kg ME) feeds were provided to the broilers in the control group (Az00). The sun-dried azolla powder replaced the ration in the test groups at 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 per cent in Az2.5, Az5.0, Az7.5, and Az10.0, respectively. On the final day of the experiment, the haemeto-biochemical profiles of the blood and carcass characteristics were compared. The blood parameters in Az5.0 were higher than the others: PCV (43.40±1.31%), TLC (66.83±0.47 n/µl), TEC (1.40±0.03 n/µl), basophils (1.69±0.04%), heterophils (18.72±0.18%), and haemoglobin (13.77±0.10 g/dl). Az5.0 had higher live weight (1151±9 g), dressed weight (888±17 g), eviscerated weight (831±36 g), eviscerated weight (73.1±2.6%), and heart weight (1.65±0.1 g). The study concluded that the broiler ration may be replaced at a 5 per cent level with sun-dried azolla powder to increase the productivity of the Kadaknath broilers.
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