Growth response of Cobb500 broiler chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) treated with different levels of Apis mellifera L. honey as a drinking additive

Abstract

Synthetic feed additives have been widely used in broiler chicken production for decades due to their proven ability to enhance growth rates, improve health, and increase feed efficiency. However, the continuous use of these products poses risks to animal health, which may subsequently impact consumer health. This study evaluates the effect of supplementing a natural-based water additive on Cobb500 broiler chicken production as an alternative to synthetic water additives. The experiment employed a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with five treatments: T1 (pure water), T2 (doxycycline + tiamulin + vitamin A + vitamin B12 + probiotics), T3 (5 mL honey per liter of water), T4 (10 mL honey per liter of water), and T5 (15 mL honey per liter of water), with each treatment replicated three times. The results revealed that broilers treated with 0.05% honey in drinking water (T3) exhibited the best performance in terms of weight increment, final weight, total weight gain, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and feed conversion efficiency (FCE), demonstrating significant improvements. Based on these findings, the study recommends supplementing drinking water with 5 mL of honey per liter for Cobb500 broilers, offering a promising natural alternative to synthetic water additives, improving growth performance while contributing to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 2 (ending hunger and promoting agriculture), SDG 3 (ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all ages), and SDG 12 (ensuring responsible and sustainable consumption and production).

Keywords: Honey, Drinking additive, Cobb500, Synthetic additive, Growth performance