Eureka! Institutional Repository

Birds are important resources for humans. They are been used both economically, through the consumption of their meat and eggs, and on an emotional level as animals. Like all organisms, birds need nutrients to keep them healthy and productive (especially birds that are bred for their meat and eggs. So, a lot of feedstuffs have been used to fill deficiencies in their diet, such as that from vitamins that can be caused by the birds mass rearing, while feedstuffs, because of their composition, are quite easy to alter and cause damage to both the bird that consumes them, as well as the people that consume poultry meat. The first part of the thesis discusses the particular morphological characteristics of birds, their eating habits and some of the cereals (oats, wheat, barley, etc.) consumed by farmed birds, as well as the substances added to animal feeds, with the purpose to protect them from spoilage and supplement bird feeding. This category also includes essential oils, which, due to their special characteristics, are added to feed. The second part of this thesis deals with the essential oils. It analyzes both what the essential oils are, namely their origin from medicinal plants, their use in plants, their mode of action and their path of formation. Particular emphasis is given to their properties due to the unique composition of each essential oil. Thus, we conclude that although the effects of essential oils in poultry are encouraging, additional studies should be done both for clarifying their properties and for the possible side effects that their reckless use may have.