GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND HAEMATOLOGICAL PROFILE OF WEANER RABBITS FED DIETS SUPPLEMENTED WITH THYME (Thymus vulgaris L.) and TURMERIC (Curcuma longa)

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the growth and haematological responses of weaner rabbits to varying dietary levels supplemented with Thymus vulgaris L. and Curcuma longa. A total of thirty six (36) unsexed weaner rabbits with average age of 4 weeks (28 days) and average weight of 750g were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments with 9 animals per treatment. Each treatment was replicated three times with 3 animals per replicate in a completely Randomized Design. Treatment 1 (T1) control contained 0g of turmeric and thyme, T2 contained 16g thyme/kg feed, T3 contained 16g turmeric/kg feed and T4 contained 8g thyme +8g turmeric/kg feed. Feed and water were provided ad libitum to the rabbits. Body weight and feed intake were measured weekly. The experiment lasted for 10 weeks. At the end of the experiment blood was collected for haematological analysis. The results showed that rabbits on T4 showed improved performance in final body weight (1900g), total weight gain  (1073.33g), average daily weight gain (19.17g), and feed conversion ratio (3.96). There were significant (p<0.05) differences among the treatments means on packed cell volume (PCV), while, no significant (p>0.05) differences occurred on RBC, WBC, Hb, MCHC, MCH, MCV andneutrophils, but, were within the normal range of values for rabbits. Rabbits on treatment 4 had the best PCV (44%). It was therefore, concluded that the inclusion of thyme at 8g/kg + turmericat 8g/kg of feed in the diet of rabbits improved their growth performance and boosted their PCV values