Effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale) on the growth performance and nutrient digestibility of finisher broiler chickens in semi-arid zone of Nigeria

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of addition of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) as feed additive on growth performance and nutrient digestibility of finisher broiler chickens. One hundred and forty four (144) finisher broiler chickens were individually weighed (325±6g) and randomly assigned to four dietary treatment groups of thirty six (36). Each group was replicated three times with each replicate comprising of 12 birds. The design was a complete randomized and the study lasted for eight weeks (8). The dietary treatment groups had T1 (0%), T2 (2%), T3 (4%) and T4 (6%) levels of ginger as feed additive. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and where significant differences occurred, means were separated using least significant difference (LSD). The results showed no significant (P>0.05) difference for final weight, daily feed intake and daily weight gain among the dietary treatment groups. Feed conversion values however varied significantly (P<0.05) among treatment. It is concluded that ginger can be included in finisher broiler diet as feed additive without detrimental effects on growth performance. However, finisher broilers fed 6% level as additive performed better compared to their counterparts and is therefore recommended. Key words: Broilers, Ginger, Additive, productive performance and digestibilit