The effect of herbal antibiotics through drinking water on broiler performance

The restriction on incorporating growth promoting antibiotics into poultry rations and drinking water has encouraged the development of herbal antibiotics as alternative feed additives to improve intestinal health and maintain broiler performance. Piper betle L. (betel leaf), Uncaria gambir Roxb. (gambier), and calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)₂ are natural materials with potential as herbal antibiotics. This trial evaluated the efficacy of incorporating a phytogenic additive into drinking water on broiler performance metrics to delineate the most effective administration level. A total of 80 one-day-old broiler chicks (CP 707 strain) were housed at the experimental facility of the Faculty of Animal Science, Udayana University, Sesetan. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of four treatments and five replications, with four birds per replicate, was employed. The treatments were P0 (drinking water without herbal antibiotics/control), P1 (2% herbal antibiotics), P2 (4%), and P3 (6%). Parameters measured in this study comprised feed consumption, water intake, final live weight, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Data were statistically processed via analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by Duncan’s multiple range test for mean comparisons whenever treatment effects reached significance. The results showed that supplementation with herbal antibiotics at 2%, 4%, and 6% had no significant effect (P>0.05) on body weight gain or final body weight. However, all supplementation levels significantly affected (P<0.05) feed intake, water intake, and FCR compared with the control. It was concluded that herbal antibiotic supplementation up to 6% was unable to improve body weight gain or final body weight but effectively reduced feed intake, water intake, and FCR, indicating improved feed utilization efficiency. Among all treatments, the 2% supplementation level produced the most optimal broiler performance, as indicated by the lowest feed intake, water intake, and FCR.