Common oregano, sustainable additive in broiler chicken feed

Abstract

The production of poultry for food in developing countries is limited by access to technologies, high production costs or importation of inputs, and insufficient studies on opportunities for the use of local production resources. This study focuses on the use of common oregano as a sustainable additive in the feeding of broiler chickens. The objective of the research was to determine the feasibility of using powdered oregano as an additive to the diet based on commercial feed in broiler chickens. Experimental methodology was employed, using a randomized design with 45 birds divided into 3 groups of 15 birds each according to the percentage of oregano addition: treatment 1 corresponded to the control group without the use of oregano in the diet, treatment 2 with 2% oregano, and treatment 3 with 3% oregano. The experiment yielded the following results: in the length and width of the intestinal villi with 3% oregano, they averaged 1056.33 µm and 188 µm, respectively. Greater utilization of the diet was observed, and the use of antibiotics was not required to ensure the health or promote the growth of the chickens. In conclusion, oregano promotes the development of intestinal villi, improves diet utilization, and can substitute antibiotics in broiler chickens with lower cost and minimal environmental impact.

Keywords: Nutritional additives, sustainable feeding, growth promoters