George K. Symeon
Department of Animal Production, Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos, GR 118 55 Athens, Greece
Costantinos Zintilas
Department of Animal Production, Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos, GR 118 55 Athens, Greece
Nikolaos Demiris
Department of Animal Production, Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos, GR 118 55 Athens, Greece
Iosif A. Bizelis
Department of Animal Production, Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos, GR 118 55 Athens, Greece
Stelios G. Deligeorgis
Department of Animal Production, Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos, GR 118 55 Athens, Greece
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of oregano essential oil dietary supplementation on the feeding and drinking behaviour as well as the activity of broilers. One hundred and twenty female Redbro chicks were randomly assigned to three treatments: Controls, R1 and R2 with 0, 100 and 250 mg oregano essential oil added per Kg of feed, respectively. Their feeding behaviour was recorded from 35-63 days of age. The probabilities of a bird feeding, drinking and moving were significantly decreased by the oregano essential oil supplementation with the higher inclusion level having the greater effect. The age of the chicks and the time of day both had a small but significant negative effect on the visits to the feeder, drinker and the activity of broilers. There was a fairly high positive correlation between the probability of a chicken feeding and drinking and a smaller but still significant correlation between feeding and moving. Oregano essential oil significantly altered feeding behaviour of female broilers with the inclusion level being a significant factor of this change.
PDF References
How to cite this article
George K. Symeon, Costantinos Zintilas, Nikolaos Demiris, Iosif A. Bizelis and Stelios G. Deligeorgis, 2010. Effects of Oregano Essential Oil Dietary Supplementation on the Feeding and Drinking Behaviour as Well as the Activity of Broilers. International Journal of Poultry Science, 9: 401-405.
DOI: 10.3923/ijps.2010.401.405
URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=ijps.2010.401.405
DOI: 10.3923/ijps.2010.401.405
URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=ijps.2010.401.405
REFERENCES
- Barreto, M.S.R., J.F.M. Menten, A.M.C. Racanicci, P.W.Z. Pereira and P.V. Rizzo, 2008. Plant extracts used as growth promoters in broilers. Rev. Bras. Cienc. Avic., 10: 109-115.
CrossRefDirect Link - Bokkers, E.A.M. and P. Koene, 2003. Behaviour of fast- and slow growing broilers to 12 weeks of age and the physical consequences. Applied Anim. Behav. Sci., 81: 59-72.
CrossRefDirect Link - Botsoglou, N.A., P. Florou-Paneri, E. Christaki, D.J. Fletouris and A.B. Spais, 2002. Effect of dietary oregano essential oil on performance of chickens and on iron-induced lipid oxidation of breast, thigh and abdominal fat tissues. Br. Poult. Sci., 43: 223-230.
CrossRefDirect Link - Botsoglou, N.A., A. Govaris, E.N. Botsoglou, S.H. Grigoropoulou and G. Papageorgiou, 2003. Antioxidant activity of dietary oregano essential oil and alpha-tocopheryl acetate supplementation in long-term frozen stored Turkey meat. J. Agric. Food Chem., 51: 2930-2936.
PubMedDirect Link - Botsoglou, N.A., P. Florou-Paneri, E. Christaki, I. Giannenas and A.B. Spais, 2004. Performance of rabbits and oxidative stability of muscle tissues as affected by dietary supplementation with oregano essential oil. Arch. Anim. Nutr., 58: 209-218.
CrossRefPubMedDirect Link - Cervato, G., M. Carabelli, S. Gervasio, A. Cittera, R. Cazzola and B. Cestaro, 2000. Antioxbdant properties of oregano (Origanum vulgare) Leaf extracts. J. Food Biochem., 24: 453-465.
CrossRefDirect Link - Daouk, R.K., S.M. Dagher and E.J. Sattout, 1995. Antifungal activity of the essential oil of Origanum syriacum L. J. Food Prot., 58: 1147-1149.
Direct Link - Demir, E., S. Sarica, M.A. Ozcan and M. Suicmez, 2003. The use of natural feed additives as alternatives for an antibiotic growth promoter in broiler diets. Br. Poult. Sci., 44: 44-45.
CrossRefDirect Link - Dorman, H.J.D. and S.G. Deans, 2000. Antimicrobial agents from plants: Antibacterial activity of plant volatile oils. J. Appl. Microbiol., 88: 308-316.
CrossRefDirect Link - Giannenas, I., P. Florou-Paneri, N.A. Botsoglou, E. Christaki and A.B. Spais, 2005. Effect of supplementing feed with oregano and/or α-tocopheryl acetate on growth of broiler chickens and oxidative stability of meat. J. Anim. Feed Sci., 14: 521-535.
Direct Link - Jones, R.B. and T.J. Roper, 1997. Olfaction in the domestic fowl: A critical review. Physiol. Behav., 62: 1009-1018.
PubMed - Kristensen, H.H., N.B. Prescott, G.C. Perry, J. Ladewig, A.K. Ersboll, K.C. Overvad and C.M. Wathes, 2007. The behaviour of broiler chickens in different light sources and illuminances. Applied Anim. Behav. Sci., 103: 75-89.
CrossRefDirect Link - Lee, K.W., H. Everts, H.J. Kappert, M. Frehner, R. Losa and A.C. Beynen, 2003. Effects of dietary essential oil components on growth performance, digestive enzymes and lipid metabolism in female broiler chickens. Br. Poult. Sci., 44: 450-457.
CrossRefDirect Link - Lewis, M.R., S.P. Rose, A.M. Mackenzie and L.A. Tucker, 2003. Effects of dietary inclusion of plant extracts on the growth performance of male broiler chickens. Br. Poult. Sci., 44: 43-44.
CrossRefDirect Link - Marcincak, S., R. Cabadaj, P. Popelka and L. Soltysova, 2008. Antioxidative effect of oregano supplemented to broilers on oxidative stability of poultry meat. Slovenian Vet. Res., 45: 61-66.
Direct Link - Marples, N.M. and T.J. Roper, 1996. Effects of novel colour and smell on the response of naive chicks towards food and water. Anim. Behav., 51: 1417-1424.
CrossRef - Namkung, H., M.LJ. Gong, H. Yu, M. Cottrill and C.F.M. de Lange, 2004. Impact of feeding blends of organic acids and herbal extracts on growth performance, gut microbiota and digestive function in newly weaned pigs. Can. J. Anim. Sci., 84: 697-704.
CrossRefDirect Link - Nielsen, B.L., M. Litherland and F. Noddegaard, 2003. Effects of qualitative and quantitative feed restriction on the activity of broiler chickens. Applied Anim. Behav. Sci., 83: 309-323.
Direct Link - Savory, C.J. and J.M. Lariviere, 2000. Effects of qualitative and quantitative food restriction treatments on feeding motivational state and general activity level of growing broiler breeders. Applied Anim. Behav. Sci., 69: 135-147.
PubMed - Simitzis, P.E., S.G. Deligeorgis, J.A. Bizelis, A. Dardamani, I. Theodosiou and K. Feggeros, 2008. Effect of dietary oregano oil supplementation on lamb meat characteristics. Meat Sci., 79: 217-223.
CrossRefDirect Link - Simitzis, P.E., J.A. Bizelis, S.G. Deligeorgis and K. Feggeros, 2008. Effect of early dietary experiences on the development of feeding preferences in semi-intensive sheep farming systems-a brief note. Applied Anim. Behav. Sci., 111: 391-395.
Direct Link - Spiegelhalter, D.J., N.G. Best, B.P. Carlin and A. van der Linde, 2002. Bayesian measures of model complexity and fit. J. Royal Stat. Soc. Ser. B (Statistical Methodology), 64: 583-639.
CrossRefDirect Link - Weeks, C.A., T.D. Danbury, H.C. Davies, P. Hunt and S.C. Kestin, 2000. The behaviour of broiler chickens and its modification by lameness. Applied Anim. Behav. Sci., 67: 111-125.
Direct Link - Young, J.F., J. Stagsted, S.K. Jensen, A.H. Karlsson and P. Henckel, 2003. Ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol and oregano supplements reduce stress-induced deterioration of chicken meat quality. Poult. Sci., 82: 1343-1351.
PubMedDirect Link