INFLUENCE OF STRAIN ON HAEMATOLOGICAL VALUES, BLOOD CHEMISTRY AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF THREE STRAINS OF NOILER CHICKEN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.vi.4437Keywords:
Strain, Noiler, Haematological, Carcass, Blood ChemistryAbstract
The experiment evaluated the influence of strain on haematological values, blood chemistry and carcass characteristics of three strains (black, brown and spotted) of Noiler chicken. The experiment was conducted at the poultry section of the Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSADP) in Bauchi. A total of one hundred and thirty-six (136) eight weeks old Noiler birds were purchased from the Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSADP). The birds were raised on deep litter system until the age of 18weeks before they were transferred to battery cage housing system. They were randomly distributed into 3 treatment groups based on strain using a Completely Randomized Design(CRD). The experiment lasted for a period of three months from the first day of lay. The birds were fed uniformly with a standard commercial diet and water was supplied ad-libitum. At 34 weeks, seventy-two (72) birds were randomly selected from three different strains (24 birds per strain) for haematology and biochemical analysis while at the end of the experiment, a total of fiftyseven (57) birds were randomly selected from different strains (19 per strain) for gut and carcass analysis.The Haemoglobin (Hb) result indicated that all the treatments were within the normal range (10.2 – 15.1g/dl), the packed cell volume (PCV) were within the normal recommended values.The result for lymphocytes fell within the normal value of 40 – 70% indicating that the birds were normal. The lymphocytes, neutrophils, Basophils, Eosinophils and monocytes were all within the normal range. The result showed that strain (p<0.05) significantly affected albumin glucose cholesterol and calcium. Dressing percentage, liver, large intestine pancreas and abdominal fat were also influenced by strain. This study therefore concludes that strain affected the haematological values, blood chemistry and carcass characteristics of Noiler chicken.
