Physiological Responses of Rabbit Bucks Fed Varying Levels of Moringa oleifera Leave Extracts

Abstract

A 49 d experiment was conducted involving the use of the Moringa leaf extract (MOLE) to determine its effect on haematology of rabbits buck. Four diets were formulated to contain MOLE inclusion levels of 0% (control), 25%, 50% and 75% and tagged T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. Twenty eight grower bucks of mixed breeds were used for the experiment and were randomly divided into 4 groups of 7 animals per treatment with 1 animal per replicate in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Feed and water were provided ad libitum. Chemical analysis of the Moringa leaf extract (MOLE) indicated that the leaves contained 4.0% moisture, 30.75% CP, 6.70% EE, 12.80% CF, 10.70% ash, 35.05% NFE, 0.08% P and 1.07% Ca. All the blood parameters studied did not vary between treatments (p>0.05) except for PCV and Hb (p<0.05). The study revealed that the MOLE is rich in nutrients and could be used as a partial replacement for any vegetable protein source without any adverse effect on the blood indices of grower bucks.