Haematology and Serum Metabolites of Pre-laying Isa Brown Hens fed Varying Dietary Levels of Alligator Pepper (Aframomum melegueta, k. Schum) Seed Meal

One hundred and ninety-eight (198) day old Isa Brown pullets were raised on six (6) Alligator pepper (Aframomum melegueta) seed meal (APSM)-based diets till 16th week when 108 hens at point of lay (POL) were fed layers mash till 18th week. The study assessed the haematological indices and serum metabolites of pre-laying Isa Brown hens fed diets with APSM. In a completely randomized design, 108 hens at POL were allotted to six experimental treatments or diets designated as T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6. T1 served as the control while T2, T3, T4 T5 and T6 contained 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5% APSM respectively. Each treatment was replicated three times with six birds per replicate. 2.0 ml blood samples were collected from wing veins of the hens for haematological and serum metabolite analyses. There were no significant differences (p<0.05) in the mean values of Packed Cell Volume (PCV), white blood cells and platelets. Significant differences (P˂0.05) in mean values were obtained for Haemoglobin, red blood cell counts, Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) and Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), but the variations were not consistent with the level of inclusion across the dietary treatments. Significant differences (p<0.05) also existed in the values of serum total protein, albumin and globulin, although the levels of significance did not follow the rate of inclusion levels. However, all the mean values obtained in this study were within the normal reference values reported in the literature for healthy birds except for some liver enzymes, ALT, AST and ALP which increased slightly due to stimulatory effect of the APSM on digestive system. The study concluded that 0.2% (T3) of APSM inclusion was the best in terms of normal haematological and serum biochemistry profile and therefore, recommended further research with Alligator pepper on the laying process of other avian species. Keywords: Haematology, Serum metabolites, Alligator pepper, Isa Brown, Pre-Laying hens DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/12-10-03 Publication date:May 31st 202