ZOOTECHNICAL PERFORMANCE AND BLOOD BIOCHEMISTRY PROFILE OF ROSS 308 BROILER CHICKENS FED DIETS SUPPLEMENTED WITH DRIED Opuntia ficus-indica (prickly pear) FRUIT - BELGHITI Ayoub; RAFIK Oussama; BIDAH Sara; BENIDIRE Loubna; MOUSLIM Assia; MOHTADI Karima; EL OUAHABI Imane; MOUSLIM Jamal (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2026)
The use of antibiotic growth promoters in chicken broiler production has become increasingly questioned. The study evaluated the effect of including 10% dried Opuntia ficus-indica fruit on performance and serum biochemical parameters in Ross 308 broiler chicken. A total of 180 chicks were allocated to two experimental treatments: a control group and a treated group receiving the supplemented diet. Birds receiving the supplemented diet showed higher body weight (+9.84%) and average daily weight gain (+13.55%) than controls. Feed intake was only slightly increased (+2.73%), while feed conversion ratio decreased from 2.73 to 2.47, indicating improved feed efficiency in the OFI- supplemented group. Blood analysis showed increased total protein, albumin, and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) (p = 0.040). Together with reduced AST and stable ALT, this pattern may reflect higher metabolic activity rather than liver damage, although this finding warrants cautious interpretation. No significant differences were observed for renal and lipid parameters (p > 0.05). Overall, these results indicate that dried Opuntia ficus-indica fruit could be used as a natural feed ingredient in broiler chicken production.
Keywords: journal article; Opuntia ficus-indica; phytobiotic; broiler chicken; growth performance; metabolic activity