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HAEMATOLOGICAL AND SEROLOGICAL INDICES OF BROILER FINISHER CHICKENS FED DIETS WITH PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT AS REPLACEMENT FOR MAIZE
Abstract
This study was conducted to assess the effects of substituting maize in a broiler finisher diet with energy from palm oil mill effluent (POME) using 225 marshal strain day old broiler chickens allotted to 5 experimental treatments, each replicated three times with 15 birds per replicate in a Completely Randomized Design experiment. The diets were formulated to meet the nutrients requirements of broiler finisher. Five (5) diets were formulated containing 0%, 6%, 12%, 18% and 24% level of inclusion of POME representing diet 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. The feeding trial lasted for 8 weeks in which water and experimental diets were offered ad-libitum. Routine management practices were strictly adhered to. At the end of the 56 days feeding trial, blood samples for haematological and serum biochemistry were collected from five birds per replicate through the jugular vein. Results show that haematological indices were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by dietary treatment, and haemoglobin concentration was enhanced (P<0.05) by increased POME inclusion. The serum glucose content of the broiler chickens increased with increasing levels of POME in the diets (P<0.05), from 176.00g/dl in the control to 205.40g/dl. These results indicate that increasing level of POME in marshal strain broiler chicken diets enhanced blood haemoglobin concentration and increased glucose supply for the birds to meet the animal’s metabolizable energy needs. Therefore, 12% POME replacement level for maize is considered the best in broiler finisher’s diet.
