EFFECT OF DIETARY GINGER (Zingiber officinale) ON SEMEN QUALITY AND GROWTH PERFORMANCE IN NOILER COCKS

This study evaluated the effects of graded dietary levels of milled ginger on semen characteristics and growth performance of Noiler cocks. Thirty-six (36) Noiler cocks were used in an eight-week experiment arranged in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The birds were allocated to four dietary treatments with varying levels of dried milled ginger: T1 (0% control), T2 (0.5%), T3 (1.0%), and T4 (1.5%) with nine (0) birds per treatment. Semen volume, colour, mass activity, motility, concentration, and live sperm percentage were assessed. Growth parameters monitored included initial weight, final weight, total weight gain, daily weight gain, total feed intake, and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Results revealed that Semen quality parameters showed a significant (p < 0.05) dose-dependent response. The 1.5% ginger inclusion (T4) yielded the optimal results, producing semen with the highest sperm motility (4.25), concentration (4.55 x 10⁶/ml), and an outstanding live sperm percentage (89.75%). In stark contrast, growth performance was best in the control group (T1), which achieved the highest final weight (4.10 kg), total weight gain (0.65 kg), daily weight gain (0.0086 kg/day), and the most efficient FCR (82). All ginger-supplemented groups exhibited significantly poorer weight gain and feed efficiency, with the worst FCR recorded at the 1.0% inclusion level (97.67). The study reveals a clear physiological trade-off: a 1.5% dietary inclusion of milled ginger significantly enhances semen quality, making it beneficial for breeding cocks, but simultaneously suppresses growth and feed efficiency, rendering it unsuitable for cocks reared primarily for meat. The application of ginger in Noiler cock nutrition must, therefore, be purpose-specific based on the production objective.