Production performance
Body weight
Initial body weights of the Vanaraja birds in the T
1, T
2, T
3 and T
4 treatment groups were 1365.32, 1366.60, 1366.12 and 1364.40, respectively, at the beginning of the investigation (Table 1).
By the 22
nd fortnight, there was a notable difference in body weight among the treatment groups, with T
4 showing significantly higher body weight compared to T
1, which exhibited the lowest body weight. This finding is in line with earlier research by
Sulastri and Basri (2019), which also discovered that feeding laying hens turmeric powder increased the birds’ body weight significantly. Studies by
Amosu et al., (2020) also found that different levels of turmeric inclusion had significant effect on net weight change of the goats.
Gain in body weight
Overall total body weight gain for different treatment groups
i.e. T
1, T
2, T
3 and T
4 was 1538.12, 1549.52, 1568.53 and 1562.65 respectively (Table 1). The treatment groups did not significantly vary in terms of total mean body weight gain. These results align with those reported by
Ooi et al., (2018) and
Saraswati et al., (2013a).
Feed intake
The total feed consumption for groups T
1, T
2, T
3 and T
4 during the trial period was 38145.82 g, 38079.12 g, 38016.42 g and 38022.04 g per bird, respectively (Table 1).The groups supplemented with Turmeric had significantly lower feed intake than the control group. Changes in taste and smell, particularly the potent smell of turmeric, may be the cause of decreased feed intake. This is consistent with earlier research by
Riasi et al., (2012) and
Rahardja et al., (2015), which found that laying hens fed turmeric at doses of 1.5 to 2 g and 4 g per kg of feed, respectively, consumed less feed.
Zadeh et al., (2022), on the other hand, discovered no significant effect of turmeric supplementation on feed intake.
Feed conversion efficiency
By the end of the 22
nd fortnight, the average feed conversion efficiency of Vanaraja birds was recorded as follows: 63.11 ± 10.10, 99.942 ± 29.39, 72.895 ± 15.28 and 75.66±18.91 for T
1, T
2, T
3 and T
4, respectively, (Table 1). Supplementation of turmeric powder had significant difference in feed conversion efficiency among the different treatment groups. The control group exhibited a superior overall mean feed conversion efficiency compared to the turmeric supplemented groups. This could not be ascribed to the addition of turmeric in the diet and as such it might be due to other stress factors. Consistent with these observations,
Kanagaraju et al., (2017) similarly found a significant impact of turmeric supplementation on feed conversion efficiency in layer birds.
Mortality/liveability
The mortality rate of Vanaraja birds across the experiment for the various treatment groups T
1, T
2, T
3 and T4 was 11.11, 11.11, 3.7 and 7.14 respectively. Hence, liveability percentage was recorded as 88.89, 88.89, 96.3 and 92.86, respectively. The groups of birds that were supplemented with turmeric powder at 0.75% and 1.5% showed higher rates of bird survival. The mortality rate for Vanaraja birds was within the range given by
Singh et al., (2018).
Reproductive performance
Age at sexual maturity, body weight and egg weight at onset of egg production
The age at sexual maturity for the various treatment groups
i.e. T
1, T
2, T
3 and T
4 was documented as 176.62±7.04, 179.46 ± 2.11, 176.7±0.66 and 176.5±1.20 days, respectively (Table 2).
The body weight at the onset of egg production for these groups was recorded as 2553.20±1.52, 2561.60 ±1.46, 2580.00±0.31 and 2582.00±3.39 g per bird, respectively. Additionally the egg weight at onset of egg production was found to be 52.16±0.06, 52.20±0.04, 52.29±0.04 and 52.21±0.04 g/egg.
The age at sexual maturity and the egg weight at the start of egg production were not significantly affected by adding turmeric to the diet of laying hens since the values were similar in all groups. Contarary to the findings by
Saraswati and Tana (2016) and
Awadein et al., (2010), which found that adding herbal feed additives like fenugreek and turmeric could either delay or accelerate the laying hens’ sexual maturation.
Age at sexual maturity (days) of Vanaraja bird found to be well within the range of 172 to 185, 164.79, 197.70, 181.53±1.29 and 172.36±2.23 as reported by
Singh et al., (2018). According to
Niranjan et al., (2008) and
Chakrabarti et al., (2020), the egg weight at 280 days was also recorded as 55.87 g and 55.85±5.53 g, respectively.
Body weight at the onset of egg production was significantly increased in T
4 and lowest in T
1. The increase in body weight could be due to the positive effect of turmeric as reported by
Khodadadi et al., (2021).
Total egg production, clutch size, hen house and hen day egg production
From the beginning of laying until the end of the 365-day trial, the egg production per bird varied among the treatment groups (Table 2). T
1 had 149.86 ± 0.25 eggs, T
2 had 157.06 ±1.03 eggs, T
3 had 169.73 ± 1.34 eggs and T
4 had 156.43± 1.54 eggs. T
3 exhibited significantly higher egg production while T
1 produces the lowest. . These results are consistent with those of
Park et al., (2012) and
Azouz et al., (2019), who also observed a significant effect of turmeric powder on laying birds’ ability to produce eggs.
The clutch sizes were observed to be 5.32±0.29, 5.59±0.25, 5.83±0.44 and 5.53±0.13 numbers respectively, for different treatment groups. While the hen house egg production for the different treatment groups T
1, T
2, T
3 and T
4 was 19.55±0.44, 19.63±1.06, 21.21±0.57 and 19.55±0.68 numbers, respectively. For the various treatment groups, the hen day egg production percentages were 66.27±0.93, 69.31±0.89, 69.91±0.44 and 68.34±0.77, respectively. However, there were no significant variations in the effects of turmeric supplementation on hen day, hen house egg production, or clutch size. In contrast,
Widjastuti et al., (2017) reported an increase in both hen day and hen house egg production resulting from the incorporation of turmeric powder into the diet.
Economics
Table 3 presented the average production cost per bird for T
1, T
2, T
3 and T
4 to be 1422.92, 1449.26, 1462.37 and 1504.33 rupees, respectively.
Profit yielded per bird for T
1, T
2, T
3 and T
4 was 516.96, 551.45, 644.18 and 499.31 rupees, respectively. The related values for net profit per kilogram of weight gain are presented in Table 3.
Economically, higher net profit per bird and net profit per kg weight gain was observed in group T
3 and the least in T
4 while all of the groups supplemented with turmeric had higher overall production costs than the control. The present finding was in agreement with
Kafi et al. (2017) who had reported that net return was more economical when 0.75 per cent of turmeric was supplemented in feed as compared to control groups. The higher production costs were primarily due to the cost of turmeric.
