Effect of various management strategies and garlic granules on haematological status of broilers in the tropics

A total of Ninety (90) day old broiler birds were assigned to five (5) treatments, using the Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The five treatments were; Treatment A (No drugs, No vaccines, No garlic; Control), Treatment B (Drugs + Vaccines + Garlic), Treatment C (Drugs + Vaccines), Treatment D (Garlic + Vaccines), Treatment E (Garlic only). The garlic granules were added to the daily ration at the rate of 100g/ kg of feed. Each treatment was replicated thrice (3 times) and comprised of 6 birds per replicate. The trial lasted for 8 weeks. At the end of the experiment, one bird (1) per replicate was randomly selected for collection of blood samples for the different haematological parameters. The data obtained were analyzed statistically, using the ANOVA while significant differences were separated with the Duncan Multiple Range Test. The result obtained showed that there were significant differences (P< 0.05) in almost all the parameters studied except in red blood cells (RBC) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). The significant differences were however within the normal range for each parameter as specified for poultry except in MCV and MCH. It was obvious from this study that the broilers in the control treatment performed better in almost all the parameters studied compared to the other treatments.Key words: Garlic, Haematological status, Broilers and tropics