Effects of Dietary Inclusion of Graded Levels of Olive Pulp with or without Mixed Powder of Garlic and Thyme on Carcass Characteristics and Performance of Broiler Chicks

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of adding a commercial Medicinal Plant (MP) powder containing garlic (Allium sativum) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) to diets that included Olive Pulp (OP), on the performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chicks. A total of 240 day old male Ross-308 broiler chicks were allocated into six iso-nitrogenous and iso-energetic dietary groups with equal average of body weight per cage. Four pens of birds (n=10) were assigned to each of the six dietary groups. The main factors taken into account within a 3×2 factorial arrangement were three dietary inclusion levels (0, 50 and 100 g/Kg diet) of OP and MP (0 and 2 g/Kg diet) addition. Body Weight (BW) and Feed Intake (FI) were assessed on the 21, 42 and 49th days of age. Data were subjected to Analysis of Variance as a completely randomized design using GLM procedure of SAS. Chicks fed OP-included diets increased in FI during the starting period (0-21); however the reverse trend was found out during the growing period (22-49). Inclusion of OP in diets improved BWG of broilers during the starting period (P?0.05), however, BWGs did not significantly differ (P<0.05) during the growing (22-42) and the finishing (43-49) periods. Adding MP to diets exerted no significant effect on BWG of birds during the starting and the growing periods (P>0.05), but increased BWG during the finishing period (43-49). Broilers fed OP-included diets had improved in FCR during all the rearing periods (P?0.05). Birds fed MP-included diets had improved in FCR during the finishing period (P<0.05), but addition of MP to diets did not significantly affect FCR during the starting and the growing periods (P>0.05). In conclusion, OP (an agricultural by-product) can be included in diets of broilers up to 10% with no adverse effects on performance. Addition of the mix powder of garlic and thyme MP to diets of broilers would have beneficial effects on the birds' performance, especially in terms of BWG and FCR.