Haematological and serum biochemical indices of growing rabbits fed graded levels of Yam peel meal as replacement for maize

Résumé

Haematological and serum biochemical parameters are indicators of physiological, nutritional and pathological status of animals. Investigation of these parameters provide information for diagnostic purposes. The study was conducted to determine the influence of feeding graded levels of yam peel meal (YPM) as a replacement for maize on haematology; blood chemistry was evaluated in rabbits. Thirty- six (New Zealand white X Chinchilla) were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with nine rabbits per treatment. The rabbits were fed diets containing 0, 12.5, 25 and 37.5% of Yam peel meal (YPM) as a replacement for maize, designated as T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. The experimental diets and clean drinking water were supplied ad libitum throughout the experimental period of nine weeks. At the end of the feeding trial, three rabbits per treatment were randomly selected for hematological and serum biochemical analysis. All the haematological and serum biochemical indices except AST were affected (P<0.05) by dietary inclusion of YPM. Although most of the parameters investigated were affected by rabbits fed test ingredient, the values fell within the normal literature reference values for rabbits. It can therefore be concluded that up to 37.5% inclusion level of YPM can be fed to growing rabbits without deleterious effects on health status.