Abstract
Background: Cloves are aromatic spices containing diverse chemically-active substances with biological properties. They have also been used in traditional medicine.
Aim: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of clove buds powder (CBP) dietary administration on the performance and jejunum morphology of the broiler chickens.
Methods: A total of 360 one-day old chicks (Ross 308) were distributed according to a completely randomized design on three experimental groups according to CBP% in feed (0.0, 0.5, and 1.0%), with six replicates for each treatment group. The studied traits included body weight, daily weight gain, daily feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, mortality%, European broiler index, villus height, crypt depth, and villus height/crypt depth ratio.
Results: The broilers final body weight, daily weight gain, and daily feed consumption reduced significantly (P≤0.01) in groups consuming different percentages of CBP, and a significant increase (P<0.05) in feed conversion ratio was noted in the CBP groups. The adding CBP to feed caused a significant decrease (P<0.05) in the European broiler index (EBI). However, clove buds powder increased (P≤0.01) villus height and villus height/crypt depth ratio (h/c ratio) compared to the control group. On the other hand, the results showed that there were no significant differences (P>0.05) between treatment groups in Mortality% and crypt depth.
Conclusion: This study concluded that the addition of clove bud powder had a negative effect on daily feed consumption, daily body weight gain, final body weight, feed conversion ratio, European broiler index at a dose used in this study. But it improved intestinal morphology.

Key words: broiler, clove buds, performance, villus height.