HAEMATOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL INDICES OF GROWING YANKASA RAMS FED VARIOUS SUPPLEMENTS DURING EARLY RAINY SEASON GRAZING

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the variation in haematological and biochemical indices of growing Yankasa rams fed various supplements during early rainy season grazing. The study was conducted at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching and Research Farm, Bauchi. Sixteen (16) growing Yankasa rams were used. Four supplemental diets were formulated, the animals were allowed to graze natural pasture from morning to evening (9am-5pm). Six hundred grams (600g) of the supplementary diets were offered twice a day, 300g in the morning before grazing and 300g in evening after grazing. The supplements consist of African locust bean pulp (ALBP), maize bran (MB), poultry litter (PL), cotton seed cake (CSC) and groundnut haulms (GNH). The study lasted for eighty days in a complete randomized design (CRD) of four treatments with four replications. Blood samples were collected and analysed. The results showed that, red blood cells (RBC), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by dietary treatments. The parameters not affected were haemoglobin (HB), packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell (WBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), protein, glucose and albumin. It was concluded that, values obtained for haemato-biochemical indices were within the recommended levels of a healthy animals. Therefore, this indicates that the proportions of energy and protein in the supplements is efficient for normal physiological function of growing Yankasa sheep