Influence of the prebiotic Salgard and a herb mixture on pekin ducklings in organic poultry production: I. Growth performance and blood biochemical parameters

The purpose of this study was to follow out the influence of the prebiotic Salgard and of an herb mixture (rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano and cinnamon) on the growth performance and blood biochemical parameters of Pekin ducklings in an organic production system. In this study, 72 one-day-old Pekin ducklings reared up to the age of 63 days were used. They were divided into 3 groups of 24 birds each and sexed (12 ?and 12 ?) as followed: group I (control) fed a standard feed; group II - fed the same feed supplemented with the prebiotic Salgard at a concentration of 0.15 %, and group III - fed the same feed supplemented with 0.15 % of a herb mixture in an equal proportion (0.03% of each herb - rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano and cinnamon) from the first day of age to the end of the experiment. The individual live weight of the birds and the feed conversion ratio were controlled throughout the experiment at 1, 28 and 63 days of age. By the end of the study, blood serum ASAT, ALAT, GGT, triglycerides (TG), total and HDL cholesterol, and creatinine were assayed. The addition of Salgard to the feed of Pekin ducklings increased live weight with 4.94 % in males and with 4.67 % in females. The addition of the herbal mixture of rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, cinnamon to the feed had a positive effect on the live weight. It is increased with 3.75 % in males and insignificantly in females. A significant reduction in the blood serum concentrations of triglycerides (?<0.01) and total cholesterol (?<0.01) was established, which could be related with the anti stress effect of the herbal mixture on Pekin ducklings.