HAEMATOLOGICAL INDICES OF WEANER RABBITS (Oryctolagus cuniculus) FED VARYING LEVELS OF UREA-MOLASSES TREATED MAIZE COB AS A REPLACEMENT FOR WHEAT OFFAL

Abstract

A total of forty-five rabbits of about 5-6 weeks old were used to investigate haematological indices of weaner rabbits fed graded levels of urea-molasses treated maize cobs (UMTMC) as replacement for wheat offal in a 56-day trial. Rabbits were allotted into five dietary treatments of nine rabbits segregated into three replicate of three rabbits each. The diets contained UMTMC at five (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 %) levels of replacement with wheat offal. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance in a Completely Randomized Design. Packed cell volume (PCV), Red blood cell (RBC) and haemoglobin (Hb) was increased (P<0.05) with inclusion of 25, 75 and 100% UMTMC and were within normal range. Inclusion of UMTMC at 50, 75 and 100% reduced (P<0.05) white blood cell (WBC) count and the values were slightly lower to normal values. It could be concluded that UMTMC can replace wheat offal up to 100% in rabbit diets without adverse effect on blood parameters