Growth and Morphometric Response of Black and White Noiler Chickens to Snail Slime Supplementation

The study evaluated the effect of snail slime supplementation on growth performance and morphometric traits of noiler chickens with different plumage colours. A total of 192 noiler chickens comprising 96 black and 96 brown plumage types were used for the experiment and were randomly assigned to four treatments. Each treatment has three replicates with 8 birds each. Treatment 1 (T1) served as the control and received vitamins and antibiotics in drinking water, while T2, T3 and T4 received 10 ml, 20 ml and 30 ml of snail slime respectively diluted in 30 cl of water. Weekly body weight gain was measured for four weeks, and morphometric traits including back length, wing length, breast width, breast length, beak length and shank length were also recorded. Data obtained were analysed using the two-way analysis of variance. The results showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) among treatments in weekly weight gain across both plumage types. However, black plumage birds generally recorded higher numerical weight gains than brown plumage birds. Survival rate was slightly higher in snail slime treatments (96%) compared with the control group (92%). Similarly, morphometric traits did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) among treatments for both plumage types. The study concluded that snail slime supplementation in drinking water did not negatively affect growth performance or body conformation of noiler chickens but could serve as a potential natural additive in poultry production which will subsequently reduce cost on medication and alleviate public health concerns on drug residuals.