Effect of inclusion of Azolla pinnata on the haematological and carcass characteristics of crossbred large white yorkshire pigs

Abstract

Aim: To study the haematological and carcass parameters of pigs fed with Azolla based rations. Materials and Methods: An experiment was done for 120 days using 18 crossbred Large White Yorkshire pigs fed with diets containing Azolla as protein replacement at 0, 10 and 20 percent, respectively. The mean haematological parameters of the three experimental groups were studied before start of an experiment, and during the grower phase and finisher phase. Two pigs from each group were slaughtered after 120 days of experimental feeding to study the carcass parameters. Results: Haematological parameters like PCV, Hb, RBC, WBC, MCV, MCH, MCHC were studied and found that there were no significant (P > 0.05) differences between means of the three groups except for MCV and MCH during growing phase. There was no significant difference among the pigs fed different rations for the various carcass characteristics. A higher dressing percentage was observed in T3 pigs (83.45 percent) followed by T2 pigs (81.37 percent) and T1 pigs (81.18 percent). It was noticed that there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between the means of fat percentage and it was observed that fat percentage was higher in T1 (2.11) followed by T2 (2.04) and T3 (1.27). Conclusion: Sun dried Azolla inclusion upto 20 percent in the diets did not appear to affect the haematological and carcass parameters of pigs. Further it was observed that, inclusion of Azolla in the diets of swine helped to obtain higher dressing percentage and pork with less fat percentage when compared to that of pigs fed with conventional concentrates.