Genetic and Non-Genetic Factors Affecting Litter Size and Birth Weight of Rabbit in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria

. Genetic and non-genetic factors influencing litter size and birth weight of rabbit was evaluated using New Zealand White and Chinchilla breeds. Parameters measured were total number of kittens born per litter, number of litter born alive, live litter birth weight and average litter birth weight. Results of the experiment revealed that dam breed had no significant affect on total number of kittens born per litter, number of litter born alive and average litter birth weight while live litter birth weight were affected. Sire breed and month of birth did not significantly influenced all the parameters measured. Heritability estimates were low to moderate for all the traits (0.27 to 0.44), while repeatability estimates were observed to be low (0.17 to 0.26). No heritability and repeatability values were estimated for average litter birth weight of kittens due to negative genetic variance. Significant correlations were found between litter size traits and birth weight. Correlation between litter size traits and average litter birth weight, as well as live litter birth weight and average litter birth weight were observed to be non-significant

Hematological and serum biochemical evaluation of broilers fed fermented cassava flour meal diets

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the hematological and serum biochemical effect of feeding cassava flour meal (CFM) to Ross broiler chickens. The diets containing CFM at 0.0 (control), 20.0 and 40.0 % were designated T 1, T 2 and T 3 and were fed ad-libitum. The results show that broilers fed 40.0 % CFM consumed significantly (

Frequency and effect of spur gene on metric parameters in the Nigerian local chicken in Niger state

A study on the frequency and effect of spur gene (sI) on some metric parameters in the Nigerian local chicken was conducted on 750 adult free range indigenous chickens brought to the market for sale in the three administrative zones of Niger state, Nigeria. The parameters measured were body weight (BL), body length (BL), body girth (BG), wing length (WL), shank length (SL) and shank thickness (ST). The result shows that the calculated gene frequencies of 0.87, 0.89 and 0.90 were significantly (P<0.05) higher than the expected Mendelian frequency of 0.75 for dominant alleles. Spurred (sI) birds in zone C were significantly (P<0.01) heavier (2.19kg) than those in zone A (1.58kg) and zone B (1.50kg). Spurred birds from zone C were also significantly (P<0.01) longer (43.8cm), had better body girth (26.1cm), wing length (24.5cm), shank length (11.7cm) and shank thickness (1.23cm) respectively. It was concluded that spurred (sI) birds in zone C performed relatively better in most of the parameters measured.Keywords: Spur, metric parameters, Nigerian local chicken, frequency

The effect of cross breeding and reciprocal crossing on the reproductive performance of rabbits in Minna, Nigeria

The effect of Cross breeding and reciprocal crossing on birth, weaning and growth traits of two strains [Chinchilla (CH) and New Zealand white (NZW)] of rabbits aged between 3-4 months were investigated. A total of eighteen (18) does (nine does per strain) and six (6) bucks (three bucks per strain) were used in this study. Three (3) does per strain were assigned to a buck from the opposite strain for mating and the treatment was replicated. The does were mated when they attained the age of 5 months. Birth traits like litter size, litter weight, gestation length, gestation gain, kindling loss and neo-natal mortality were observed. At weaning, litter size, litter weight, litter weight gain, sex ratio and survival rate were monitored. Growth traits like body weight, nose to shoulder length, shoulder to tail length, trunk, ear length and heart girths were monitored at 21, 35 and 49 days. Results obtained showed that Chinchilla (CH) buck crossed with New Zealand white (NZW) does produced offspring with significantly (P< 0.05) better body weight, nose to shoulder length, shoulder to tail length, heart girth, trunk and kindling loss. However, results obtained for neo-natal mortality was better in the offspring from NZW bucks and CH does. It was concluded that progenies from the crosses between CH bucks and NZW does, were better than progenies from the crosses between NZW bucks and CH does

Chemical and bacteriological assessment of Kindirmo (local yoghurt) put on sale in Niger state

Chemical and bacterial analysis of 120 Kindirmo samples collected from the three senatorial zones of Niger state were carried out with the aim of assessing their chemical and bacterial qualities. Bacteria species identifiedwere Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp., Lactobacillus sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus sp., Micrococcus sp. and Escherichia coli. Streptococcus sp. accounted for 31.7% of the total isolates followed byLactobacillus sp. 29.2%; Staphylococcus aureus 20.8%, Bacillus sp. 5.8% and Staphylococcus epidermidis 3.3%; while Micrococcus sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli each had 2.5% and Klebsiella sp. 1.7%. Streptococcus sp. and Lactobacillus sp. were the beneficial bacteria while Staphylococcus sp. and the coliform, Escherichia coli, were pathogenic. Proximate analysis of sampled Kindirmo revealed that Kindirmo contained between 2.99-8.00% crude protein; 5.96 – 15.38% total solids, 1 – 3% lipid and 88 – 92.5% moisture, with pH values ranging between 4.73 and 5.3. The Niger State government is therefore urged to educate andenlighten the public on the routes of contamination of this widely-consumed product in order to make the product safe for consumption

Effects of anaerobic fermentation and lyle treatment of Delonix regia seed meal on performance of finisher broilers

An experiment was conducted using 120 day-old Hubbard broiler birds to evaluate the effects of anaerobic fermentation and lyle treatment of Delonix regia seed meal on the performance of finisher broilers. Four treatment diets designated T1, T2, T3 and T4 were compounded with T1representing 0% anaerobically fermented and lyle treated Delonix seed meal, T2 represents 5% untreated raw Delonix seed meal, while T3 and T4 represent 5% and 7.5% anaerobically fermented and lyle treated Delonix seed meal respectively. Experimental design used was the completelyrandomized design. Results showed that the treatments did not significantly (p>0.05) affect body weight and feed conversion ratio but significantly (p0.05), while crude protein, ether extract and Nitrogen Free Extract digestibility were affected (

Haematological evaluation of broilers administered probiotics (lactobacillus bulgaricus)

bulgaricus) administered through drinking water on some haematological indices. The birds were divided into three treatment groups each with two replicates. The three treatments were designated as T1, T2 and T3representing no probiotics (control), probiotics administered fortnightly and probiotics given weekly respectively. The experiment lasted for 63 days. The experimental design was completely randomized design.The birds were all given the same starter diet (CP 22%; energy 3000Kcal/Kg) and the same finisher diet (CP 20%; energy 3200Kcal/Kg) respectively. The parameters measured included haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC), blood total protein (TP), albumin and blood triglyceride. Results showed that, Hb, PCV, RBC, WBC, lymphocytes, TP and blood triglyceride were significantly affected (p0.05) by the treatment at the starter phase of the experiment. At the finisher phase, TP was not significantly affected (p>0.05) by the treatment while the other parameters evaluated were all affected (

Direct and Maternal Additive Effects on Rabbit Growth and Linear Body Measurements

Growth and linear body measurements of rabbits which consisted of 17 ew Zealand White (ZW), 19 Chinchilla (CH), 29 ZW x CH and 33 CH x ZW kittens were compared. The aim of the experiment was to evaluate the crossbreeding effects (i.e direct and maternal additive effect) for growth (individual body weight, IBW) and linear body traits (nose to shoulder, TS; shoulder to tail length, STL; heart girth, HG; trunk length, TL; length of ear, LE). Results revealed that significant (P<0.05) general combining ability (GCA) was observed for IBW and TS with ZW rabbits having greater body weight (408.59) and the CH rabbits having better value for TS (11.36). Significant (p<0.05) specific combining ability (SCA) was observed for all the traits evaluated. ZW x CH progenies had better TS (12.05), STL (22.79), HG (16.04), TL (18.59) and LE of ear (8.03) while CH x ZW progenies had better IBW (422.50). Direct additive effect was significant (P<0.01) but negative for all the traits; an indication of minimal contribution of the sires to the inheritance of the traits. Maternal additive effect was observed to be non-significant (P>0.01) for all the traits except IBW. It could be recommended that CH sires be used to mate ZW dams to improve body weight and linear body traits. ZW does could be favoured to give the best IBW based on their superior maternal ability. Crossing between ZW and CH could be advantageous in increasing IBW and linear body measurements.Keywords: Growth, linear body measurements, heterosis, maternal, additive effec

Breed, heterotic, maternal and direct additive effects on pre and post-weaning body weight and body dimensions in New Zealand and Chinchilla strains of Rabbit

Data on growth and linear body measurements of rabbits which consisted of two pure strains (New Zealand White, NZW and Chinchilla, CH) as well as their reciprocal crosses were compared. The aim of the experiment was to evaluate the crossbreeding effects (i.e direct, maternal and heterotic  effects) for growth and linear body dimensions as well as body weight (BW) at weeks 3,5 and 7 and daily gain (DG) at 0-21, 21-35 and 35-49 days respectively. Results revealed that there were significant (p<0.05)  differences among the genotypes for BW at week 3, 5, 7 and DG. Linear contrast showed that breed differences (p<0.01) exist among the strains in favour of NZW. Direct heterotic effect was positively significant (p<0.01) only for NTS with a percentage of 5.16. Direct additive effect was significant (p<0.01) and positive only for LE with a percentage of 10.26 while maternal additive effect was observed to be insignificant (p>0.01) for all the traits except IBW with a percentage of 21.66. Breed also showed significance (p<0.01) for all body weight changes except for DG35-49. Direct additive effects was generally positive in favour of NZW but showed significant (p<0.05) difference only for BW5 (11.63 %) and DG0-21 (20.72 %). Maternal additive effect was significant (p<0.01) for BW5 (8.95 %) and BW7 (20.36 %) while negative heterotic effect (p<0.05) was observed for BW5 (-23.26 %) and BW7 (-18.01 %) respectively. It was concluded that breed differences exist between the two strains studied and this difference is mostly in favour of NZW strain.Key words: Breed, direct heterotic, maternal additive, direct additive effects, NZW, CH