EVALUATION OF SUN-DRIED SHEEP RUMEN CONTENT AS A REPLACEMENT FOR RICE OFFAL ON BLOOD AND BIOCHEMICAL PROFILES OF WEANER RABBITS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.vi.5055Keywords:
Sheep rumen content, Weaner rabbits, Rice offal, Blood, Biochemical profilesAbstract
An experiment was conducted at Bauchi State College of Agriculture, Bauchi Rabbitry Unit for eight weeks to determine the haematological and serum biochemical parameters of weaner rabbits fed varying levels of Sun-dried Sheep Rumen Content (SDSRC) as replacement for rice offal (RO). Fifty (50) weaner rabbits were assigned to five dietary treatments with SDSRC replacing RO at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%, designated as diet 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively each diet was replicated five times with two rabbits per replicate in completely randomized design, feed and water were supplied ad libitum. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and the results portrayed non-significant difference (P>0.05) in all the parameters except blood platelets (P<0.05) (107.67-547.67x103dL). Most of the serum biochemistry values revealed statistical similarity (P>0.05) apart from total cholesterol(1.83-3.77mol/L) (P<0.05). Therefore, it can be concluded that SDSRC could replace RO without affecting the health status of the weaner rabbits.