Effect of supplemented black seed (Nigella sativa) on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broilers

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with black seed on the performance in broilers. A total number of 120, 1 day old broiler chicks (Ross 308) were randomly allocated 4 treatments with 3 replications The experiment lasted for 6 weeks. The dietary treatments consisted of the basal diet as control, 3, 5 and 7% black seed added to the basal diet. Body weights and feed intake of broilers were measured weekly. As a result, supplementing black seed did not have significant effect on broiler body weight, feed consumption and carcass characteristics. However, it can be concluded that feeding low levels of black cumin seed tended to improve performance characteristics in terms of body weight, feed consumption and carcass characteristics. The black cumin seed may reduce lipoidosis in the broilers.