HAEMATOLOGICAL PROFILE OF BROILER CHICKENS FED DIETS CONTAINING PROCESSED IRON WOOD (Prosopis africana) SEEDS MEAL

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the haematological profile of broiler chickens fed diets containing varying levels of processed Iron wood (Prosopis Africana). Five experimental diets were formulated to contain Prosopis africana seed meal at 0, 2.50, 5.00, 7.50 and 10.00 % designated as T1 (Control), T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively. A total of 200 day old unsexed broiler chicks were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments with four replicates per treatment and 10 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design (CRD). The experiment lasted for 8 weeks. The results revealed that most haematological parameters measured were non- significantly (P>0.05) influenced by dietary treatments except White blood cell (WBC), Red blood cell (RBC), Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and Platelet. In conclusion, inclusion of Prosopis africana seed meal (PASM) in broiler diets up to 10 % dietary level of had no deleterious effect on the health status of the birds.