Effects of an essential oil mixture added to drinking water for temperature-stressed broilers: performance, meat quality, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances

SUMMARY This study investigated the effects of an essential oil mixture (EOM; Eucalyptus globulus labill, Tymus vulgaris, Cymbopogon nardus, and Syzgium aromaticum) added to drinking water on temperature-stressed broilers. The performance parameters (body weight, average daily weight, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio), meat quality, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) were evaluated. In a 42-d study, 400 Ross-308 male chickens (1-d-old) were randomly assigned to 8 different groups (n = 50), each containing 4 subgroups (n = 8) (22°C Control (C), C + 250 mL/1,000 L, C + 500 mL/1,000 L, C + 750 mL/1,000 L), 36°C (stress control (SC), SC + 250 mL/1,000 L, SC + 500 mL/1,000 L, SC + 750 mL/1,000 L). Adding 750 mL/1,000 L at 22°C and 250 mL/1,000 L at 36°C was more beneficial to the fattening performance parameters than those in the control group. EOM reduced liver weight but increased abdominal fat in the SEOM-250 groups but did not affect other organ weights. EOM had no effect on the TBARS or the b* color parameter while it augmented the a* and L* coordinates of meat color.