Aya Al-Kanain, Luma Bandr, Rukaibaa Chechan
This study was conducted in two distinct phases at the University of Baghdad's College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences at the first phase was conducted in the laboratories of the Department of Food Science and lasted six months. The second phase will be conducted from December 26, 2023, to January 30, 2024, in the poultry field, Department of Animal Production - Abu Ghraib to determine the effects of adding powdered shiitake mushrooms of the local variety to broiler feed on production efficiency. The study used 200 ROSS 308 broiler chicks sexed with an average initial weight of 45 grams at 1 day of age. There were a total of four treatments, to each of which fifty chicks were randomly assigned. Each treatment was conducted in five replicates with 10 birds each. T1, T2, T3 and T4 were the three treatments with different amounts of shiitake mushrooms in the feed: 0, 2, 4 and 6 g/kg, respectively. These were a starter, grower and finisher diet tailored to the specific needs of the birds at different points in their life cycle. The results of this study showed a significant improvement (p < 0.05) in feed conversion ratio when using 2 or 4 g/kg shiitake mushrooms in the diet for broilers. However, there were no significant differences in the dressing percentages and major cuts of the carcass.