GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND ORGAN MEASUREMENT OF BROILER CHICKEN OFFERED ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF SOLE AQUEOUS LEAF EXTRACT OF SCENT LEAF AND SIDA ACUTA

The study was aimed to determine growth performance and organ measurement of broiler chickens offered oral administration of sole aqueous leaf extract of scent leaf and Sida acuta. Two hundred and ten (210) unsexed commercial day-old broiler chicks of cobb 500 strain were purchased from the reputable commercial hatchery (Zartech Farm, Ibadan, Oyo state). The birds were randomly divided into five (5) treatment groups of three (3) replicates of fourteen (14) birds each. The fresh leaves were pulverized into powder with the aid of an electrical blender. Fifty gram(50g) of sundried scent leaf powder were soaked into one litter (1L) of distilled water and allowed to stay for 12hours. Thereafter, it was sieved with muslin cloth. One hundred gram (100g) of Sida acuta leaf powder was dissolved in 1 Litre of distilled water. The collected aqueous leaf extracts of the Sida acuta and scent leaf were kept in the refrigerator until required for supplementation into the drinking water of the experimental birds. A corn soybean based diet was the basal diet for broiler starter and finisher diets used for the study. Fresh drinking water supplied with antibiotics and coccidiostat seived as the control. Other treatment groups were offered aqueous leaf extracts of S. acuta and scent leaf in the drinking water. The aqueous leaf extract of 40 and 80ml/L scent leaf were added to drinking water in treatments T1 and T2, respectively. Drinking water for broilers in treatments T3 and T4 were supplemented with 30 and 60ml/L Sida acuta aqueous leaf extract, respectively. The extracts were used as alternative to drugs (antibiotics and coccidiostat) used in the control. The result showed that the 18.52% crude protein in scent leaf was lower to 21.44% crude protein observed in Sida acuta leaf. Higher contents of phytate (161.53mg/100g), flavonoid (140.43mg/100g) and terpenoid (62.3mg/100g) were obtained in scent leaf than those of Sida acuta leaf (128.43, 92.50 and 45.41mg/100g respectively. The final body weight of broiler finisher (2225.88g) offered oral administration of 80ml/L of scent leaf was heavier.Oral administration of the aqueous leaf extracts significantly influenced some digestive parts of broiler chickens such as gastrointestinal weight (P=0.034), duodenum weight (P=0.032), GIT length (P=0.029), jejunum length (P=0.022), ileum length (P=0.047), caecum length (P=0.047), duodenum length (P=0.034). It is hereby recommended that aqueous leaf extract of 80ml/L of scent leaf should be used as alternative to antibiotics and coccidiostat for improved feed conversion ratio.