Dietary Green Banana Powder Improves Feed Efficiency, Watery Droppings Indicators, and Litter Condition in H’Mong Chickens Under Tropical Farm Conditions

Abstract

Green banana powder is a functional feed ingredient rich in resistant starch and dietary fiber, with potential applications in poultry nutrition. However, information regarding its use in indigenous Vietnamese chicken breeds under practical tropical rearing conditions remains limited. This study evaluated the effects of dietary green banana powder supplementation on growth performance, feed efficiency, watery droppings incidence, and litter quality in H’Mong chickens from 1 to 56 days of age. A total of 120 one-day-old H’Mong chickens were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments containing 0%, 1%, 2%, or 3% green banana powder, with three replicates of 10 chickens per treatment. Dietary supplementation significantly affected final body weight, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, watery droppings incidence, wet-dropping days, litter moisture, litter quality score, and odor score (P < 0.05). Chickens receiving 2% green banana powder showed the best productive and litter-related responses. Feed intake and survival rate were not significantly influenced by dietary treatment (P > 0.05). Under the conditions of the present study, supplementation with 2% green banana powder improved feed efficiency, productive performance, watery droppings-related indicators, and litter condition in H’Mong chickens raised under practical tropical farm conditions.

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