EFFECTS OF AQUEOUS PLANT EXTRACTS ON THE HAEMATOLOGICAL INDICES OF PURE AND CROSSBRED CHICKENS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.vi.5034Keywords:
Neem, ginger, haematology, Noiler, Heavy EcotypeAbstract
The effect of neem and ginger extracts on the haematological indices of Noiler, Heavy Ecotype chicken and their crossbred was investigated. A total of 360 one-day-old chicks from 3 genetic groups consisting; 120 chicks from a cross between Noiler cocks × Noiler (NN) hens, 120 chicks from a cross between Heavy Ecotype cocks × Heavy Ecotype (HH) hens and 120 chicks from a cross between Noiler cocks × Heavy Ecotype (NH) hen were used for the study. The chicks from each genetic group were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 30 birds per treatment as follows: T1: No plant extracts, T2: 200 ml neem, T3: 200 ml ginger and T4: 100 ml neem + 100 ml ginger. The result indicated that haemoglobin (HB), packed cell volume (PCV), Platelets, white blood cells (WBC) and its differential showed significant treatment effect (P<0.05) except red blood cell (RBC), mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC). From the result, it was concluded that 200 ml of ginger extract and the combined effect of neem and ginger extracts can be used to improve the blood parameters and general health of the birds.