HAEMATOLOGY, BLOOD CHEMISTRY AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF GROWING RABBITS FED
GRASSHOPPER MEAL AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR FISH MEAL
A. A. Njidda* and C. E. Isidahomen1
Department of Animal Science, BayeroUniversity, Kano, P.M.B. 3011, Kano-Nigeria; 1Department
of Animal Science, AmbroseAlliUniversity, P.M.B. 14, Ekpoma, Edo
State-Nigeria. *Corresponding author: ahjidda@yahoo.com
Abstract
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing fish meal with
grasshopper meal on haematology, blood chemistry and carcass characteristics of
growing rabbits. Forty rabbits of mixed breeds, aged 6-10 weeks, were randomly
assigned to the dietary treatments in a complete randomized design with eight
rabbits per treatment. The rabbits were fed with diets containing 0, 1.25, 2.50,
3.75 and 5% grasshopper meal in diets designated as T1 (control), T2,T3,T4 and T5, respectively.
The experimental diets and clean drinking water were supplied
ad libitum throughout the experimental
period of nine weeks. At the end of the feeding trial, three rabbits per
treatment were slaughtered for carcass evaluation, while blood samples were
collected for analysis. The result of the experiment showed significant
differences (P<0.05) among the treatments for packed cell volume (PCV), red
blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC), mean corpuscular volume
(MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin
(MCH) but there was no significant effect (P>0.05) on haemoglobin and mean
corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC). The results also revealed
significant differences (P<0.05) for serum globulin, glucose, cholesterol, urea
and creatinine but there was no significant effect (P>0.05) on serum albumin and
total protein. The results of carcass characteristics showed significant
differences among treatments (P<0.05) for slaughter weight, carcass weight,
dressing percentage, skin pelt, tail, feet and abdominal fat. The slaughter
weight and carcass weight were better in groups receiving 2.5% grass hopper meal
(50% fish meal replacement). From the results, it can be concluded that
inclusion of 2.50% grasshopper meal as a replacement for fish meal (50%
replacement) has no adverse effects on the haematological parameters, serum
biochemistry and carcass characteristics of rabbits.