Abstract:

White ginger (Zingiber officinale) powder as feed additive in the diet of broiler chicks was investigated. Feeding trial was conducted using one hundred and forty four (144) day-old Abor acre plus strains broiler chicks. The birds were randomly assigned to four (4) dietary treatments with thirty six (36) birds per treatment divided into three (3) replicates of twelve (12) birds each in a completely randomized designed. The trials lasted for 28 days. Four experimental diets were formulated for the broiler chicks as T1, T2, T3 and T4 of 0, 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30 % white ginger powder respectively. Data were collected on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and production cost. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and the means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. The results shown that white ginger powder contains 92.70% dry matter, 8.20% ash, 13.90% crude fibre, 1.89 % fats, 12.60 % crude protein and 55.41 % carbohydrate. There were significant (p<0.05) improvements in final weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion as the level of white ginger powder increased above T2 (0.20 %). Nutrient digestibility was not significantly differs across the treatment. Production cost was better at inclusion level 0.20 %. Therefore, use of white ginger powder as feed additive in broiler chicks up to 0.30 % is recommended while considering growth performance and nutrient digestibility and 0.20 % when production cost is considered.

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