The effects of garlic powder supplementation as an additive on feed intake, growth rate, blood pressure, liveability, and occurrence of metabolic disorders

This study aimed to determine the effects of garlic as an additive on feed intake, growth rate, liveability, and the occurrence of certain metabolic disorders, namely AS and sudden death syndrome (SDS), in broiler chickens. A total of 1,920 as-hatched Arbor Acre broiler chicks were housed in 32 pens, with 60 chicks per pen. This study consisted of four dietary treatments with eight replicates of each, including a control with 0% addition of garlic powder to the basal diet; 30% garlic powder (1.5g GP/kg basal diet); 50% garlic powder (2.5g GP/kg basal diet); and 100% garlic powder (5g GP/kg basal diet) at an inclusion level of five grams of garlic powder per one kilogram of basal diet. The birds were fed a three-phase diet consisting of pre-starter (d0 - 7), starter (d8 - 18), and grower (d19 - 32) over a 32-day trial period. Feed and clean, fresh water were provided ad libitum<i>. </i>The feed intake of birds fed garlic powder supplementation improved significantly compared to the control group at 28 days of age. The rate of weight gain from 14 to 21 and the live weights achieved from day 14 to 28 were significantly greater for birds fed the 50% and 100% garlic powder diets at an inclusion level of 5 grams per 1 kilogram of basal diet. The effect of garlic powder supplementation was most noticeable on broiler production performance parameters between 14 and 28 days of age.