EFFECT OF USING ALKALINE SOLUTIONS IN MAIZE TREATMENT ON THE SERUM BIOCHEMISTRY OF BROILERS

Abstract

A feeding trial that lasted for fifty-six (56) days was conducted with one hundred and forty- four (144) day old broilers to determine the effect of using alkaline solutions in maize treatment on the serum biochemistry of broilers. Four experimental diets were formulated with different alkaline solutions used in the treatment of maize: 0% (control) labelled T1, 2% K2CO3 (T2), 2% Ca(OH)2 (T3) and 2% CaCO3 (T4). The birds were randomly grouped into four (4) experimental treatment with three (3) replicates of twelve (12) birds per treatment in a completely randomized design. At the end of the experiment, three (3) birds were selected from each replicate for serum biochemistry analysis. The blood biochemical parameters measured showed significant differences (p<0.05) in all the parameters except for total protein and albumin. T3 (2%CaOH) and T4 (2%Ca2Co3) showed significantly lower aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and total cholesterol values compared to the other treatment groups. The creatinine values of T3 (2%CaOH) and T4 (2%Ca2Co3) were also lower than the control group, but showed no significant difference (p>0.05) with T2 (2%K2CO3). The results obtained from this experiment showed that treating maize with 2% calcium carbonate (CaCO3) before using it in feed formulation for broilers did not have any adverse effect on the serum biochemical indices