Effect of Feeding Herb Extract on Growth Performance, Intestinal Microflora and Blood Component Profile in Broiler Chickens

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding herb extract (HE) on productivity, intestinal microflora and blood component profile in broiler chickens. A total of three hundred twenty, 1-d-old male chicks (Ross) were divided into 4 treatments with 5 replicates, 16 birds per replicate. Dietary treatments consisted of four diets; the corn-soybean based control diet, the diet containing HE 0.1%, the diet containing HE 0.2%, and the diet containing HE 0.4%. The Control diet contained 3,100, 3,100, 3,200 kcal/kg ME and 22%, 20%, 18% CP for starter (), grower (), and finisher () periods, respectively. There were no significant differences in feed intake and BW gain among treatments in starter period. In grower period, the BW gain of HE 0.2%, and HE 0.4% were significantly higher (p