The Effect of Citric Acid on Feed Intake, Body Weight Gain and Body Linear Measurement Traits on Indigenous Chickens- A Review
The Effect of Citric Acid on Feed Intake, Body Weight Gain and Body Linear Measurement Traits on Indigenous Chickens- A Review
Zulu Blantina Fangele, Tyasi Thobela Louis, Gunya Busisiwe*
ABSTRACT
The indigenous chickens are known to be economically, socially, and culturally important to the people of Africa, especially those from marginalised communities. Although these chickens are associated with poor productivity in terms of the number of eggs laid, most consumers prefer their flavoursome meat. Despite that, there has been a research gap in the genetic, physiological, and nutritional aspects of indigenous chickens of Africa over the past decade. The use of citric acid has higher economic potential owing to its numerous applications to chickens. This article critically reviews a detailed understanding of the description, advantages and limitations of using citric acid on indigenous chicken. Several studies have been conducted on the nutritional requirements of local chickens, but the results were inconclusive and contradictory. This review concludes that indigenous chickens play a significant role in improving livelihoods, and strategies to preserve and sustain them must be intensified. However, it has been well established that citric acid can acidify the gastrointestinal tract of the chicken which improve the feed intake, furthermore, they improve the growth performance of the chicken including the body weight gain and body linear measurements.
Keywords | Organic acid, Nutrition, Performance, Production, Chickens.
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