In ovo Injection of Black Cumin (Nigella Sativa) Extract on Hatching and Post hatch Performance of Thermally Challenged Broiler Chickens during Incubation

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the effects in ovo injection of black cumin (BC) extract on chick’s quality, response of thermally challenged broiler chickens. A total of 700 hatching eggs of broiler chickens (Marshall) were assigned to 7 treatments of 100 eggs each, and incubated using the conventional protocol (37.8°C) for the first ten days and then exposed to high temperature (39.6°C) for 6 hours daily from day 10 until day 18 of the incubation. At embryonic day (ED) 17.5, the eggs were randomly allotted to seven treatment groups viz.: eggs without in ovo injection (WA), eggs injected with 0.9% saline solution (SA), 3mg ascorbic acid (AA), 2mg BC (TB), 4mg BC (FB), 6mg BC (SB) and 8mg BC (EB) extracts. Experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). After hatching, the chicks were reared separately according to in ovo treatments for 8 weeks. Data were collected on hatchability, chick quality, internal organs, growth performance, plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and triiodothyronine (T3). The results showed that the hatchability of the eggs AA was similar to SB and higher than those of the other treatment groups. The intestinal weights of SB and EB birds were significantly higher (P