NUTRITIONAL AND TECHNOLOGY VIEW ON THE USE OF BLACK CUMIN SEED OIL IN BROILERS

Sa？etak Using black cumin seed oil is not common practice in nutrition of broilers, but due to its high content of linoleic and linolenic acid it was used for experimental purposes in accordance with the requirements of this research. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of addition of black cumin seed oil on body weight, weight gain, feed conversion and production index at forty “Cobb 500” broilers divided into two groups (experimental and control). Chemical analysis of commercial mixtures for fattening broilers was: starter 22.41% crude protein and 12.71 MJ Metabolizable Energy (ME) /kg); grower 21.17% crude protein and 12.95 MJ/kg ME and finisher 20.06% crude protein and 13.03 MJ/kg ME. Broilers from the experimental group were treated with black seed oil (0.025g/chick/day) during the fattening period. The analysis of fatty acids composition of black cumin seed oil showed 16.8% saturated and 82.91% of unsaturated fatty acids. At the end of fattening period (42nd day), broilers of the experimental group achieved a better overall production results: higher body weight and boddy carcass, lower feed conversion, and higher European Production Index (EPI) than in the control group but there were no significant differences