Haematological and serum biochemical profile of weaner rabbits fed ensiled water hyacinth based diets
Abstract
In a 6-week feeding experiment, 25 new-Zealand white breed of weaner rabbits, with an average age of 8-10 weeks were used to assess the effect of ensiling water hyacinth (WH) with different additives on blood parameters of the animals. The animals were randomly allotted to five dietary groups, with five animals per group. Blood samples were collected before, during and on the last day of the experiment for haematology and serum biochemical analyses. All haematological and serum biochemical parameters examined were not significantly influenced by the effect of ensiling WH with different additives. A diet of WH ensiled with different additives has no detrimental effect on the blood parameters indicating good health status of the animals.