Efecto del orégano (Origanum vulgare) sobre parámetros zootécnicos, órganos linfoides y tamaño de vellosidades intestinales en pollos broiler

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out at the Irquis Farm belonging to the University of Cuenca. The study was carried out with 192 one-day-old chicks. Dried oregano leaves were crushed to obtain oregano meal and its addition was "ON TOP" in the basal diet. The objective was to evaluate and analyze the effects of different levels of oregano (Origanum vulgare) meal addition on zootechnical parameters, lymphoid organ assessment and intestinal morphometry. The chicks were distributed in 4 treatments: T1 (BC, control); T2 (BC + 0.5% HO); T3 (BC + 1% HO); T4 (BC+ 1.5% HO). Better results were obtained with treatment 2 with an inclusion of 0.5% oregano meal, reaching the highest average accumulated consumption with 1301.67 g. Likewise, this treatment registered the highest weight gain (386.33 g). On the other hand, treatment 4 achieved the best feed conversion (1.57). The percentage of accumulated mortality was 2% in T1, T3 and T4, and 0% in T2; therefore, the levels of oregano meal addition did not cause gastrointestinal, respiratory or infectious problems as they did not appear during the experiment. The length of intestinal villi was more significant in treatment 4 with an average of 2145, 47 μm. Treatment 3 recorded a lower crypt depth (109.74 μm). In the weight of the bursa of Fabricius and thymus, there was a numerical difference in treatment 4 with 1.80 g and 2.27 g respectively.