Antioxidant status, hematology, performance, organ and carcass evaluation of heat_stressed broiler chickens fed with dietary Bambusa vulgaris leaf meal
Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of bamboo leaf meal (BLM)
in broiler chicken feed to alleviate heat stress.
Materials and Methods: This investigation was conducted following institutional policies guiding
the handling of animals as approved for scientific research. 150 heat-stressed Arbor Acres broiler
chickens were divided randomly into five dietary treatments, T1–T5, of 30 per treatment and 10
per replicate, to determine the consequence of feeding BLM on health and performance. Birds
in T1–T4 were fed 0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% BLM-included diets, respectively, while T5 had a 0.2%
vitamin C-included diet.
Results: Increasing dietary BLM positively impacted body weight gain, feed intake, feed conver�sion rate (FCR), and stress indices levels. Broiler chickens had better feed intake (267 gm), weight
gain (1,504 gm), and FCR (3.64) in T4. Serum glutathione peroxidase and malondialdehyde levels
were not statistically different with increasing dietary BLM, while corticosterone levels were lower
for chickens fed with dietary BLM. The superoxide dismutase index levels did not follow a particu�lar pattern as dietary BLM increased. The hematology, carcass, and organ quality were unaffected
by dietary BLM inclusion.
Conclusion: BLM inclusions up to 2% in the broiler diet ameliorate heat stress conditions and
improve performance without imposing any detrimental impact on the birds
