Abstract
This study was carried out to determine the effects of partial replacement of maize with 50% bread waste meal (BWM) on the haematological traits and serum biochemical indices of broiler chickens. One hundred and twenty days old Anak 2000 broiler chicks were used in an eight week feeding trial; thirty (30) chicks were selected per treatment group and each group was allocated to four treatment diets (1, 2, 3 and 4) with three replicates per treatment in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Diet 1, the control diet contain maize and soya bean meal (SBM) as basal diet; while 50% of maize in diet 1 was replaced with BWM in diets 2, 3 and 4 using SBM, groundnut cake meal (GNC), and 50% SBM + 50% GNC respectively as a protein source. The results showed that the haematological traits were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the test diets, though the values obtained are within the normal range for broiler chickens. Packed cell volume (PCV) ranged from 39.60% in Diet 1 to 35.10% in Diet 4; White blood cells (WBC) from 271.10 to 251.10 (x 103/ µl), red blood cells (RBC) from 31.60 to 26.30 (x106/ µl), haemoglobin (Hb) from 13.17 to11.30 (g/dl), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) from 125.50 to 129.60 (fl) mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) from 41.70 to 43.40 (þg) and MCHC from 33.60 to 32.80 (g/dl). The results of the serum biological indices showed that total protein and its fractions, and serum glucose were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the test, however these values are within the normal range for broiler chickens. From the above, therefore, it can be concluded that BWM at 50% inclusion can be included in the diets of broiler chickens as replacement for maize without any adverse effect on the blood profile of broiler chicken.
Highlights
The potential of poultry industry in alleviating the challenges of low availability of animal protein for human consumption in developing countries is being hampered by high cost of production (Damisa, 2008)
Four broiler starter and finisher diets (1, 2, 3 and 4) were formulated; Diet 1, the control diet contains maize and soya bean meal (SBM) as basal diet; while 50% of maize in diet 1 was replaced with bread waste meal (BWM) in diets 2, 3 and 4 using SBM, groundnut cake meal (GNC), and 50% SBM + 50% GNC respectively as a protein source (Table 2)
The results showed that the packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cells (WBC),red blood cells (RBC), haemoglobin (Hb),and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) were significantly affected (P
Summary
The potential of poultry industry in alleviating the challenges of low availability of animal protein for human consumption in developing countries is being hampered by high cost of production (Damisa, 2008). A by–product of bakery industry is cheap and abundantly available in Nigeria; it is rich in energy, low in fibre but high in vitamins (Abdulatif et al, 2004, and Dabron et al, 1999). It is a possible agro–industrial by–product that can be incorporated into broiler chickens feed as energy source in order to decrease the cost of production. A readily available and fast means of assessing clinical and nutritional health status of animals on feeding trials may be the use of blood analysis, because ingestion of dietary components has measurable effects on blood composition (Maxwell et al, 1990). Journal of Animal Health and Production 2 (4): 51 – 54 http://nexusacademicpublishers.com/journal/11
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