The supplementary effect of Moringa oleifera leaf water on performance and blood indices of finisher broilers

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of Moringa oleifera leaf water (MOLW) on the performance and blood indices of finisher broilers. Varying proportions of Moringa oleifera fresh leaves 50 g, 150 g and 250 g, respectively, for T2, T3, and T4 were each boiled in 20 litres of water and allowed to cool to obtain Moringa oleifera leaf water (MOLW). Four groups of fifteen broiler chicks (28 days old) of Agrited breed were randomly assigned to one of the Moringa oleifera leaf water for 28 days in a completely randomized design. Each group was subdivided into three replicates of five birds each. The birds were fed normal broiler finisher diet for all the groups. At the end of the Moringa oleifera leaf water intake trial for 28 days, results showed that average body weight changes and average daily body weight gain increased significantly at T3 (150 g/20 litre H2O) compared to other treatments. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) on the average daily water intake, average daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio. The haemoglobin and neutrophils decreased (P < 0.05) as the concentration of Moringa oleifera leaf in the Moringa oleifera leaf water (MOLW) increased. Conversely, the lymphocytes increased (P < 0.05) as the concentration of MOLW increased in the treatments. The biochemical values showed that total serum protein, globulin and urea decreased significantly (P < 0.05) as the inclusion level of the Moringa oleifera leaf in moringa oleifera leaf water increased. Serum creatinine increased significantly (P < 0.05) at T3 (150 g Moringa leaf/20 litres of H2O). It was finally concluded that water from cooked Moringa oleifera leaf can be used to improve growth performance of finisher broiler birds at 150 g/20 litres of water without any deleterious effect on the blood indices of the birds