HAEMATOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL INDICES OF WEANER RABBITS FED WITH VARYING LEVELS OF SUN-DRIED SHEEP RUMEN CONTENTS AS A REPLACEMENT FOR MAIZE OFFAL

Abstract

The research was conducted to investigate haematological and biochemical indices of weaner rabbits fed with varying levels of sun-dried sheep rumen contents (SDSRC) as replacement of maize offal (MO). Fifty weaner mongrel rabbits between 5 and 7 weeks of age were allotted to five dietary treatments replicated five times with two rabbits per replicate in a completely randomized design with SDSRC replacing MO at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% designated as treatment 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Parameters measured for haematology and serum biochemical indices recorded non-significance differences (p>0.05) in most of the parameters except, red blood cell (5.46 -8.77x106 /ul), albumin (3.23-4.00g/dl) and total cholesterol (mol/L) (1.23-3.83g/dl) p<0.05. Based on the results obtained it was concluded that, most of the values obtained for haemotology as well as serum biochemical indices falls within the normal literature values for rabbits, therefore, Sun-dried sheep rumen content can replace maize offal resulting into advantage of reduced feed cost without affecting their health status