CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS, HAEMATOLOGY AND BIOCHEMICAL RESPONSES OF WEANER RABBITS FED WITH VARYING LEVELS OF SUN-DRIED SHEEP RUMEN CONTENT

Abstract

An eight-week experiment was conducted at Bauchi State College of Agriculture, Rabbitry unit to determine carcass characteristics, haematology and biochemical responses of weaner rabbits fed with varying levels of sundried sheep rumen content. Fifty mongrel’s weaner rabbits were allotted to five dietary treatments replicated five times with two rabbits per replicate in complete randomized design. Five diets were formulated with sundried sheep rumen content replacing wheat offal at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% designated as diet 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Feed and water were supplied ad libitum. Parameters were measured were carcass yield, weight of organs, gut characteristics and blood profile. Results showed that, there were no significance differences (p>0.05) in all the parameters except caecal length (225-254cm), white blood cell (10.00-12.56x103dl) and total cholesterol (1.63-3.33mol/L) that were significantly different (p<0.05). Therefore, it can be inferred from this research that, sun-dried sheep rumen content should be included in the diet of weaner rabbits without affecting their carcass traits and health condition.