Performance, serum biochemical and haematological responses of weaned rabbits fed Alternantera braziliana based diets

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance and blood parameters of rabbits fed Alternanthera brasiliana (AB) based diets. The chemical composition of AB leaf meal and the experimental diets was determined. The feeding trial assessed the performance of weaned rabbits fed graded levels of  Alternanthera brasiliana leaf meal. Twenty five (25) weaned New- Zealand white breed of rabbit of about 6-8 weeks of age with average weight of 520-560g were allotted to five experimental treatments in a completely randomized design with five animals in each group. Parameters measured include feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio. Blood samples were collected before, during and on the last day of the experiment for haematology and serum biochemical analyses. Results showed that the dry matter intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio varied significantly among the treatment means. it ranged from 71.16 – 87.98 g/d; 7.35 -11.84g/d respectively. However, it was observed that the animals on 10% AB leaf meal recorded the highest (87.98 g/d) dry matter intake and daily weight gain (11.84g/d).  Same trend was observed for the feed conversion ratio. All haematological and serum biochemical values were within normal range and did not vary significantly among the treatments. It is concluded that optimal performance by the weaned rabbits were attained when 10% of the conventional groundnut cake was replaced with Alternanthera brasiliana leaf meal.