The Effect of Artemisia on Immune Response and Productive Performance Against Newcastle Disease in Broiler Chickens

Prevention of Newcastle disease has received a lot of interest across the world. The high productivity performance of the commercial chickens’ breeds has negative effects on the immune system and animal welfare. As a result, the current study aimed to investigate the benefits of adding Artemisia powder at levels of 0.5% and 1% to broilers’ feed as a growth and health promoter. A total of 120 commercial broiler chickens were grown on the floor in a chicken house and separated into three groups, including one control and two treatment groups. Each group contained 40 chickens subdivided into two replicates. The three groups, namely G1 (chickens without Artemisia powder, as a control group), G2, and G3 in which chickens were fed with basal diet plus 0.5% and 1% Artemisia powder, respectively, were differentiated based on their diet throughout 35 days of the experiment. The measured parameters included the immune response to Newcastle disease vaccine, blood biochemical parameters, and growth performance as well as relative weight for the spleen and bursa of Fabricius. A diet containing 1% Artemisia powder significantly improved antibody titer against Newcastle disease, body weight, and weight gain. Thus, the addition of 1% of Artemisia powder to the broiler’s diet can improve immune response against Newcastle disease and growth performance.