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This experiment was performed to determine the effect of diets with varying salt levels on the haemogram, whole blood viscosity and osmotic fragility of Barred Plymouth Rock (BPR) and Isa White (IW) breeding cocks. Four experimental diets designated as: T1 (control diet with 0.25 % salt), T2 (diet with 0.50 % salt), T3 (diet with 0.75 % salt) and T4 (diet with 1.00 % salt) were fed to 48 cocks of the two different breeds grouped into 12 birds per treatment and at four birds per replicate. At the end of eight weeks of experiment, blood samples were collected for the determination of the haemogram, whole blood viscosity and red blood cell osmotic fragility. The results revealed differences (P<0.05) in erythrocyte sedimentation rate, haemoglobin content, red blood corpuscles, packed cell volume and whole blood viscosity between the two breeds. Also, percentage eosinophils (3.30±0.15 versus 3.10±0.10) and basophils (1.60±0.16 versus 1.80±0.13) differed (P<0.05) between breeds. The red blood cells of birds on the high salt diets were more osmotically fragile than the control diet. There was no breed difference in the osmotic fragility between the BPR and IW cocks, however the BPR breed was more sensitive to osmotic fragility at all saline concentrations and dietary levels than the IW breed. Conclusively, increase in the dietary salt up to 0.75 % level has no significant effect on the two commercial breeding cocks as far as their differential leucocyte count is concerned, but a case of sub-clinical basophilia could be induced at 1.00% level. Also, the IW seemed the more osmotically stable breed in terms of its erythrocytic osmotic fragility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the performance, haematology, nutrient digestibility and economics of production of growing pigs fed diets containing differently fermented cassava starch residue (CSR) and cassava peels (CP) altogether referred to as cassava tuber wastes (CTW). The CSR and CP were each divided into three parts and processed as dry unfermented (UFCRS Diet 2; UFCP Diet 5), naturally fermented (NFCSR Diet 3; NFCP Diet 6) and microbial fermentation by inoculation (MFCSR Diet 4; MFCP Diet 7). Each part was included in a control diet (Diet 1) to replace maize at 20% dietary level to make a total of seven treatments. The final live weight (FLW), total live weight gain (TLG) and total feed consumption (TFC) of pigs fed the control diet were not significantly (p>0.05) different from those fed the test diets. However, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of pigs fed the control was consistently lower (3.93) than those fed CSR (3.68-3.30) and CP (3.75-3.36)-based diets. The response of RBC, WBC, Hb and PCV to the dietary treatment varied significantly (p<0.05) with the CTW-product incorporated into the diets vizs: RBC 106/mm3: 7.53 vs CSR (5.71-6.26) and CP (4.71-5.75); WBC 103/mm3:14.84 vs CSR (9.06-10.06) and CP (8.53-10.90), and PCV%: 36.75 vs CSR (35.75-36.00) and CP (32.5-37.00) while the MCHC and differential counts were not significantly (P>0.05) affected. Varied effects on the digestibility of major ingredients in the diets were observed with the digestibility of dry matter (DM) been enhanced: 0.49-8.68% and 3.10-7.48%, organic matter (OM): 1.60-9.37% and 3.41-8.43%, crude protein: 3.33-6.17% and 1.18-4.10%, and crude fibre (CF): 24.37-30.52% and 2.34-28.80% by CSR and CP, respectively, over the control diet. The Mean Apparent Digestibility (MAD) for NFE (CSR 65.07%; CP 69.33%) was higher than that of the control diet (61.49%). The cost of feed intake per pig decreased: 11.92-12.76% and 8.38-14.95%, cost of feed per kg body weight gain: 14.84-22.66% and 14.84-21.88% with enhanced gross profit increase of 19.66-29.02% and 14.37-26.50% in CSR- and CP-based diets, respectively. It can, therefore, be concluded that CTW products could be included in pig's diet as an alternative to maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]