EFFECT OF ANISE OIL SUPPLEMENTATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF NORFA CHICKS AND SOME BLOOD CONSTITUENTS

The objective of this research was to determine the effect of dietary Anise oil (AO) supplementation on Norfa chick's performance and some blood parameters during the period of 4 to 16 wks of age. A total of one hundred and twenty, unsexed Norfa chicks, four weeks old, were randomly divided into 4 treatments of 30 chicks and divided into 3 replicates of 10 chicks each in a completely randomized design. Treatment groups were as follows: T₁, control basal diet without supplementation, T_2, T₃ and T₄ represent the supplementation of AO at the levels of 100, 300 and 500 mg/kg diet, respectively. The experiment lasted for 16 weeks. Performance parameters, some blood parameters and economical efficiency were determined. Results showed that, the diet with 500 mg Anise oil / Kg diet had significantly (P ≤0.05) heaviest body weight, body weight gain, highest feed intake and best feed conversion ratio. Total protein and globulin significantly increased in T₄ (500 mg AO/kg diet); moreover, lower total lipids and total cholesterol were also recorded for the same group. It could be concluded from this study that supplementing Norfa chick diets with Anise oil have a beneficial effect on chick's performance and could be used as a growth promoter.