Effect of supplementation of dry and rainy season grazing on some blood metabolites of small ruminants

Abstract

The study examined the effects of supplementation of dry and rainy season grazing on some blood metabolites of sheep and goats in Bauchi state, Northeastern Nigeria. The supplements were maize bran (MB) and cotton seed cake (CSC) given at the ratio of 4:1 followed by grazing in the field. Supplemented sheep and goats showed higher values of packed cell volume (PCV), blood urea (BU) and total blood protein (TBP) than the  not-supplemented groups. However, TBP values for nonsupplemented sheep was slightly higher (48.79 g/l) than the supplemented sheep (48.65 g/l).
Supplemented sheep in the wet season values for PCV, BU and TBP were similarly not significant (p>0.05). It was concluded that farmers should supplement their small ruminants (sheep/goats) with protein source diets for better physiologically performance.

Key words: Supplementation, season, blood, metabolites, sheep and goats