Phytobiotic Supplementation as a Sustainable Alternative to Antibiotic Growth Promoters: Impacts on Growth, Carcass Traits, Blood Lipids and Faecal Microbial Characteristics in Sonali Chickens

The poultry industry needs safe, residue-free alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters. Phytobiotics are plant-derived feed additives that have emerged as promising alternatives, but little is known about how they affect Sonali chickens, a popular dual-purpose breed in South Asia. This study tested whether the commercial phytobiotic Novovital, given in drinking water, could improve the growth, health and profitability of Sonali birds. A total of 120-day-old chicks were divided into four groups and reared for 63 days, receiving 0 (control), 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5 mL of Novovital per litre of drinking water. The 1.0 mL/L dose significantly improved final body weight, feed conversion ratio, breast, thigh and drumstick yield, serum total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and faecal total viable bacterial count (p < 0.05). Birds receiving 1.0 mL/L had approximately 10% greater final body weight than control birds (p < 0.05), converted feed more efficiently and produced more breast, thigh and drumstick meat, even though all groups ate the same amount of feed. The same dose lowered blood cholesterol, increased HDL cholesterol and reduced the total viable bacterial count in faeces by approximately 75% relative to the control (p < 0.05), while all other blood values remained unchanged. No mortality was observed at the 1.0 and 1.5 mL/L doses, and meat drip loss was lowest at 1.0 mL/L. Numerically, net profit per bird at this dose was more than double that of the control (p > 0.05). Increasing the supplementation level to 1.5 mL/L did not confer additional benefits. Overall, Novovital at 1.0 mL/L improved growth, feed efficiency and profitability in Sonali production without adverse effects on bird health.