Wahab Izadi - Department of Animal Science, Mahabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahabad, Iran

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of ginger on health status and performance of challenged chicks and to compare its efficacy as growth promoter with avilamycin. At a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, 300 chicks were divided into six groups, five replicates with 10 birds per each. Treatments were diets containing 0.5% ginger powder or 100 mg/kg avilamycin that were fed to unchallenged or Salmonella challenged chicks, plus negative and positive controls. Mortality and diarrhea was observed in challenged chicks four days after infection. Dietary inclusion of ginger or avilamycin decreased (P < 0.05) fecal Salmonella count and mortality of challenged chicks. Feed intake was not affected by treatments, but affected (P < 0.05) by challenging. Broilers in positive control had the lowest the overall daily gain. Dietary inclusion of ginger or avilamycin increased (P < 0.001) daily gain, but the effect of later was greater than former. At the overall period, challenging increased feed conversion ratio and inclusion of avilamycin and ginger to diet decreased (P = 0.008) it, but the effect of avilamycin was greater than ginger. Finally, ginger could improve health status and performance of unchallenged and challenged chicks, but its efficacy is lower than avilamycin.

Broiler chicks, Ginger powder, Antibiotic, Salmonella challenging, Growth