Effect of Vitmin C, vitamin E and organic chromium and its combination on carcass characteristics of Narmadanidhi birds during summer season
Author(s): Laxmi Chouhan, SS Atkare, Girraj Goyal, Surbhi Yadav, Devendra Podhade and Anil Shinde
Abstract: This study was carried out to evaluate the impact of dietary supplementation with vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin E, organic chromium, and their combinations on the carcass traits of Narmadanidhi birds during the summer season. A total of 240 day-old colored, dual-purpose Narmadanidhi chicks were randomly assigned to 12 dietary treatment groups, each comprising 20 chicks with two replicates. Birds were raised on a litter system in individual pens as per treatment allocation. They were fed formulated starter and finisher diets from 0-6 weeks and 7-12 weeks of age, respectively. The dietary treatments included a control group (C0), and groups supplemented with C1 (150 mg/kg ascorbic acid), C2 (250 mg/kg ascorbic acid), E1 (125 mg/kg vitamin E), E2 (200 mg/kg vitamin E), Cr1 (1.25 mg/kg chromium propionate), and Cr2 (2.0 mg/kg chromium propionate). Combination treatments included C2E1, C2E2, C2Cr1, C2Cr2, and C2E1Cr2. At 12 weeks, two birds from each replicate were slaughtered, and carcass parameters such as starved body weight, shrinkage percentage, blood loss, feather loss, eviscerated yield, giblet yield, total meat yield, and abdominal fat percentage were recorded. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The results indicated a significant effect of dietary treatments on starved body weight, while blood and feather losses remained unaffected. Among individual supplement groups, birds receiving C2, E2, Cr1, and Cr2 showed significantly improved eviscerated yield and total meat yield compared to the control. Combined treatments C2Cr2 and C2E1Cr2 yielded significantly higher eviscerated meat, giblet, and total meat percentages than both the control and other treatments. Notably, E2 supplementation led to the highest giblet yield among single treatments. Abdominal fat was significantly reduced in Cr1, Cr2, C2Cr1, C2Cr2, and C2E1Cr2 groups compared to the control, with Cr2, C2Cr2, and C2E1Cr2 showing the most pronounced effects. In conclusion, the combined supplementation of 250 mg/kg ascorbic acid with 2.0 mg/kg chromium propionate (C2Cr2), and with 125 mg/kg vitamin E plus 2.0 mg/kg chromium propionate (C2E1Cr2), significantly enhanced carcass characteristics in Narmadanidhi birds during heat stress conditions.
