Overcrowding Stress Management in Broiler Chicken with Herbal Antistressor

Abstract

Overcrowding of broiler chicks due to lack of space induces harmful effects which act as predisposing factor in the reduction of production and performance in poultry. Supplementation of antistressor products can ameliorate adverse effect of various stressors in poultry. An experiment was designed by inducing overcrowding stress and its management by supplementation of polyherbal antistressor, adaptogenic and immunomodulator formulation Stresroak in broiler chicken. One hundred and fifty day old broiler chicks were randomly divided into five groups of 30 chicks each. Groups I, II and III served as control and were only offered with basal diet. Group I served as control with a normal space. The chicks in groups II and III (positive control) were provided with space 25% and 50% lesser than normal, respectively. The bird in therapeutic group IV and V were provided with 25% and 50% less space along with antistressor Stresroak@1g/1kg of feed, respectively. Growth and performance related parameters like feed consumption, body weight, feed conversion ratio (FCR) were evaluated in addition to haematological, serum biochemical and gross pathological studies. Polyherbal formulation not only improved growth and performance related parameters, but also normalized the haematological and serum biochemical parameters. Gross pathological lesions in vital organs also showed improvement in therapeutic group compared to control. It was concluded that Stresroak exhibits antistressor and adaptogenic activity to ameliorate the overcrowding stress in poultry.