Evaluation of Aloe barbadensis gel supplementation on growth performance, survival rate and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of dietary Aloe vera gel supplementation, administered via drinking water at four levels (0.0, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 mL), on performance, survival rate, and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens in a CRD with three replicates per treatment. Growth performance, IBW, FBW, BWG, FI, FCR, and SR showed no statistically significant differences among treatments, although T2 tended toward higher FBW and WG, and T4 recorded the best SR; high within-treatment variability, particularly in FCR, likely limited the detection of these trends. In contrast, Aloe vera gel supplementation significantly affected specific carcass components: shank weight differed highly significantly among treatments, while back, thigh, and leg weights were significantly affected, with the control (T1) consistently producing the heaviest leg-quarter cuts and higher inclusion levels (T3, T4) yielding progressively lower values. Live weight, dressed weight, breast, wing, head, neck, drumstick, and giblet weights were unaffected by treatment. These findings indicate that while Aloe vera gel supplementation at the tested levels did not enhance overall growth performance or survival, inclusion above 5.0 mL was associated with a selective reduction in leg-quarter cut weights, without corresponding effects on total carcass yield.

Keywords: Aloe barbadensis, broiler chickens, feed intake, growth performance, feed conversion ratio