Haematology, serum biochemistry and relative organ weight of broiler fed raw and roasted kenaf seed meal as a replacement for full fat soybean meal

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with 240, unsexed day old Arbor Acre broiler chicks to evaluate the benefit of replacing full fat soya (FFSM) with whole kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) seed meal (WKSM) in the diets on the haematology, serum biochemistry and organs weight of the broiler chicken in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement, consisting two processing methods (raw kenaf seed meal RKM and roasted kenaf seed meal HKM) and 3 inclusion levels (10%, 20% and 30%). Blood samples were collected from the birds through the wing web vein for haematology and serum biochemistry, while sample of organs were collected from the birds after they were sacrificed after the 8 week feeding trials. Results showed that the processing methods significantly (p<0.05) influenced the mean values obtained for neutrophil and lymphocytes, while haemoglobin (Hb), total protein, globulin, uric acid, cholesterol, alanine amino transferase (ALT) (EC 2.6.1.2) and aspartate amino transferase (AST)(EC 2.6.1.1) were significantly influenced (p<0.05) by both processing methods and levels of inclusion. Weight of gizzard, spleen, lungs and heart were also influenced by both the processing methods and levels of inclusion of WKSM. The PCV, haemoglobin concentration and total protein values were within the range of 26.33 to 32.68%, 8.83 to 11.03g/dl and 37.70 to 50.43g/L. The results suggest that WKSM possess good dietary protein quality for optimal growth of broiler chicken. Inclusion levels above 20% to broiler will significantly alter the haematological and serum biochemical variables and probably induce anaemic conditions and dysfunction of visceral organs which can lead to their poor performance