BLOOD INDICES OF WEST AFRICAN DWARF GOATS FED GRADED LEVELS OF BROILER LITTER

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate effects of broiler litter (BL) on blood parameters of West Africa Dwarf (WAD) goats fed complete diets. Five diets were formulated using BL to replace 40 % composition of cottonseed cake (CSC) at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 % thus each level of replacement served as a treatment. Thirty WAD bucks with average weight of 10.57±0.42 kg were randomly allotted to the five treatments in a randomized complete block design (RCBD), the animals were blocked on weight basis. Rate of blood urea and blood glucose concentration were studied at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 hours post feeding. Blood collected at 0 h was used for haematology and serum biochemistry study. The results revealed that serum biochemistry [except Ts protein (g/L), P<0.05] and haematological parameters were statistically similar (p>0.05) across the inclusion levels of broiler litter. Blood glucose (mMol/L) concentrations were highest in WAD bucks on treatment diets with highest concentration observed at 3 h post feeding. However, blood urea (mMol/L) levels were highest at 6 h post feeding with peak values observed at 50 % replacement level. It was concluded that replacing CSC with BL in the diet of WAD bucks did not alter haematological and serum biochemical concentration from normal values