Effect of dietary supplementation with different levels of green tea powder and fish oil or their combination on carcass characteristics in broiler chickens

This study was aimed at assessing the effects of fish oil and green tea powder and their combination on carcass traits and intestinal measurements of broiler chickens reared for 42 d of age. two hundred and seventy dayold male broiler chicks (ross 308) were randomly assigned to one of nine dietary treatments with three replicates of 10 chicks based on a completely randomized design. the dietary groups comprised a control diet without feed additive; diets containing only 1.0 or 1.5% of green tea powder; diets containing 1.5% of fish oil combined with 0,1.0 or 1.5% of green tea powder; diets containing 2.0% of fish oil combined with 0,1.0 or 1.5% of green tea powder. the growth responses achieved by broilers from all dietary groups complied with the standards. dietary inclusion of fish oil and green tea powder did not affect broilers' body weight and carcass yield as well as meat cuts compared with those fed the control diet. feeding a combination of fish oil and green tea powder resulted in lower abdominal fat and neck percentages in birds as well as in higher heart and jejunum percentages. in conclusion,results from the current trial suggested that the dietary supplementation with a combination of fish oil and green tea powder may support carcass parameters in broilers. further research is needed to assess the effects of these supplements as a feed resource for poultry production. copyright 2014 zoological society of pakistan.