Supplementation with ginger (Zingiber officinale) improved growth performance and carcass traits of Dong Tao chickens

Budi Guntoro, Lam Thai Hung¹, Ly Thi Thu Lan¹ and Nguyen Hoang Qui

Department of Livestock Social Economics, Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
budiguntoro@ugm.ac.id
¹ Tra Vinh University, No. 126 Nguyen Thien Thanh Street, Ward 5, Tra Vinh City, Tra Vinh Province, Viet Nam

Abstract

Dong Tao chickens (2-week-old; n=96) were allocated to four treatments consisting of diets supplemented with four levels of ginger (0, 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75%). There were linear improvements in daily weight gain and feed conversion, in carcass yield and the proportion of thigh meat in the carcass, as the level of ginger in the diet was increased from 0 to 0.75%.

Key words: indigenous chicken, prebiotics, Vietnam

Introduction

In Vietnam, the poultry industry is becoming more and more important for Vietnamese economy, especially in rural areas, not only for economic reasons but also for human nutrition (Dahloum et al 2016). The use of indigenous chickens is common to meet the demand for diverse poultry products for human consumption (Pham et al 2013).

Among local breeds, Dong Tao chicken is well-known for high meat quality and big legs (Hiep et al 2015). Dong Tao chickens are usually given as gift to other people in Lunar New Year with a high price when compared with other native chickens, as much as 20 USD per kg (Duy et al 2020).

Photo 1. Dong Tao chicken

Ginger is a common herb which was used in many studies to improve poultry performance and increase the value of poultry meat. Ginger has natural growth promoting properties and can be a potential alternative to antibiotics (Demir et al 2003).

Ginger has been applied in poultry feed to improve the growth performance and carcass characteristics in previous researches (Oleforuh-Okoleh et al 2014; Karangiya et al 2016; Shinde et al 2017; Talukder et al 2017). Ginger is reported tp decrease abdominal fat (Barazesh et al 2013) and to improve the digestive process (Khan et al 2012).

Photo 2. Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Ginger has been recognized as having a strong stimulating effect on the immune and digestive systems (Al-Shuwaili et al 2015), acting as a prebiotic with positive effects on the immune response (Qorbanpour et al 2018). Abd El-Hack et al (2020) showed that ginger possessed properties which could enhance antibody formation.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of ginger on growth performance of Dong Tao chicken, and to identify the most suitable level in the diet.

Materials and methods

Location

The experiment was implemented at the experimental farm of the School of Agriculture and Aquaculture, Tra Vinh University from March to July, 2019.

Preparation of Ginger Powder

Raw ginger was bought from a local market, then peeled and cut into pieces and dried in sunlight. After drying, the ginger was ground to a powder. Feed and ginger powder were mixed before using every day.

Animal and Experimental Design

Dong Tao chickens were bought from Tien Giang province as an original resource of the breed. The chickens had ad libitum access to water and feed adjusted according to the growth stage: 2 to 6-week-old and 7 to 11-week-old (Table 1).

Ninety-six, one-day-old  Dong Tao chickens were allotted using a Completely Randomized Design to four treatments and three replicates per treatment (8 chickens per one replicate and each replicate with balanced amount of males and females). The treatments consisted of control (no ginger powder) and three levels of ginger powder: 0, 0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75%. The birds in each replicate were confined in pens with size 5 m². The floor was covered by rice husk and Balasa bio-yeast.

Growth performance

The chickens were individually weighed at the beginning of the experiment and weekly during the trial (at 06:00 before feeding).

Carcass characteristics

Carcass characteristics were measured at the end of the experiment: one male and one female chicken from each replication were randomly chosen. They were weighed, then slaughtered, and scalded after bleeding. Carcasses were separated into two parts including breast and thigh with left-side and right-side, then each part was weighed separately.

Statistical analysis

The data were analyzed by the General Linear Model procedure in the ANOVA programe of the Minitab 16.0 software.

Results

Growth performance

Ginger powder improved the growth and feed conversion (Table 2).

Figure 1. The relationship between ginger supplementation and daily weight gain	Figure 2. The relationship between ginger supplementation and feed conversion

Carcass characteristics

The percent carcass in live weight and the percent thigh in the carcass were increased with linear trends as the level of ginger in the diet was increased (Table 3; Figures 3 and 4).

Figure 3. The relationship between ginger supplementation and dressing percntage	Figure 4. The relationship between ginger supplementation and percentage thigh in he carcass

Discussion

The positive effects of growth rate and feed conversion are supported by the studies of Oleforuh-Okoleh et al (2014), Karangiya et al (2016), Shinde et al (2017) and Abd El-Hack et al (2020). It appears that ginger in the feed acts as a growth stimulant independiently of effects on feed intake which was not changed by ginger addition. Raza et al (2016) reported a similar result. It is suggested that the mode of action of the ginger is through improvements in digestibility and nutrient absrption as indicated in the reports of Zhang et al (2009), Akbarian et al (2011) and Attia et al (2017)

The increases in dressing percent and proportion of thigh in the carcass have important economic benefits and are supported by similar findings reported by Herawati and Marjuki (2011) and Barazesh et al (2013).

Conclusion

• Supplementing the diet of Dong Tao chickens with powdered ginger root strongly improved live weight gain and feed conversion and led to increases in carcass yield and the proportion of thigh meat in the carcass.

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