Vol. 9, Special Issue 1, Part H (2025)

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of amoxicillin, synbiotic and thyme essential oil as feed additives on nutrient utilization in commercial broiler chickens. A total of 200 Cobb broiler chicks of one week of age were randomly distributed into 5 dietary treatment groups: T₀ (Basal diet only); T₁ (Basal diet + amoxicillin @ 200 mg/kg); T₂ (Basal diet + synbiotic @ 100 mg/kg), T₃ (Basal diet + thyme essential oil @ 2ml/kg) and T₄ (Basal diet + synbiotic @ 50 mg/kg + thyme essential oil @ 1ml/kg). Each group contained 4 replicates with 10 birds each for 35 days period. The results revealed a significant (p<0.05) increase in the utilization of ether extract (EE) and crude fibre (CF) in T₄ treatment group than control group (T₀). In antibiotic (amoxicillin) supplemented group (T₁) there was significant (p<0.05) increase in dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) utilization compared to control group (T₀). In conclusion, supplementation of synbiotic and thyme essential oil combination can be beneficial for nutrient utilization in broiler chickens.