RESPONSE OF HAEMATOLOGICAL INDICES OF BROILER STARTERS TO DIET CONTAINING GRADED LEVELS OF FLASHED-DRIED CASSAVA PULP AS REPLACEMENT FOR MAIZE

Abstract

A study was conducted with two hundred and forty (240) day-old unsexed Cobb 500 broiler chickens fed starter diets containing varying levels of flashed dried cassava pulp (FDCP) to evaluate haematological indices. The broilers were allotted on weight equalization to four dietary treatments, and replicated six (6) times, with 10 birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. FDCP replaced maize at 0, 5, 10 and 15% levels. The feeding trial lasted for 28days. On the 28-day of the study, 3mls of blood was randomly withdrawn by using a disposable needle and syringe from a bird per replicate into a bottle that contained anticoagulant and transferred to the laboratory for assay. Laboratory results were analysed by using SPSS version 27. White blood cells (WBC) showed significant values (p<0.05) from 11.85 to 17.10 (x 106 /l). Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) significantly (p<0.05) ranged from 119.25 to 118.35 (fl). The mean corpuscular Haemoglobin values ranged from 37.40 to 40.35%. Conclusively, varied FDCP can be used up to 15% level without posing negative effect on haematological indices of broiler starter chickens. Therefore, 15% inclusion level of FDCP is recommended to substitute for maize in broiler nutrition.