Effects of Replacing Vitamin-Mineral Premix with Leaf Meal Composite on Blood Profile of Starter Broiler Chickens

A.  O. Mosuro; O. A.  Ogunwole; U. Ekarika; B. S.  Adedeji; F. O.  Jemiseye; T. V. Abokede; S. O. Olufeko; I. A. Oludoyi

doi:10.51791/njap.vi.5117

Authors

A. O. Mosuro University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
O. A. Ogunwole University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
U. Ekarika University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
B. S. Adedeji University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
F. O. Jemiseye University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
T. V. Abokede University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
S. O. Olufeko University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
I. A. Oludoyi University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.vi.5117

Keywords:

Air-dried leaves, haematological indices, serum indices, vitamin-mineral premix

Abstract

Effects of replacing dietary vitamin-mineral premix (VMP) with graded inclusions leaf meal composite from selected vegetables on serum and haematological indices of broiler starter chicks were investigated. One day-old Arbor Acre chicks (n = 320) were randomly allotted to four treatment groups with eight replicates of ten chicks each in a completely randomised design. Air-dried leaves of Telfaria occidentalis, Celosia argentea, Vernonia amygdalina and Moringa oleifera were milled and constituted in equal proportions to a leaf meal composite (LMC). Four diets formulated were: standard diet (T1) without LMC while other diets contained 1.5 (T2), 3.0 (T3) and 4.5 (T4) % LMC. On day 21, blood (5 mL) was sampled from two birds per replicate for haematological and selected serum biochemical assays. Treatment had no significant effect (p>0.05) on determined haematological parameters. Similarly, effects of treatments on aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine were not significantly different (p>0.05) however, alanine aminotransferase values (U/L) 23.5, 23.5, 23.75 and 35.75 for chicks on diets T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively were significantly different (p<0.05). The LMC successfully replaced VMP in the diet of broiler starter chickens without any critical implication on chicks’ health.