Evaluation of groundnut haulms on growth performance and hematological indices of broiler finisher in semi-arid zone of Borno State

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate growth performance and haematological profiles of broiler chickens fed varying levels of groundnut haulm as a source of protein. A total 100 day old chicks from Amo Hatchery were used for the study. The chicks were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments replicated three times in a Completely Randomized Design. The groundnut haulms was fed to the birds at 2 %, 4 % and 6 %. Blood samples were collected through the wing vein. Haematological parameters such as PCV, Hb, RBC, WBC, MCV, MCH and MCHC were determined. Results on growth performance showed that there were significant (P<0.05) difference among the growth parameters measured, except the initial weight, daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio. All the haematological parameters differed significantly (P<0.05) across the treatments, except mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Furthermore, the replacement of Groundnut meal for the groundnut haulm at 6% favoured normal growth and physiological function without adverse effects on the haematological profile of the broilers. However, differences observed in the treatments do not pose any adverse effect on the health status of the animals. Groundnut haulm can favorably replace groundnut meal up to 6 % level of inclusion in the diet of finishing broiler.