Haematological Parameters, Serum Biochemistry and Gut Microbial Count of Broiler Chicks Fed Processed Dietary Fungi Treated Jatropha curcas Kernel Meals

Aims: This feeding trial evaluates the blood characteristics and gut microbial count of broilers chicks fed Processed Dietary Fungi Treated Jatropha curcas Kernel Meals.

Study Design: All data generated were subjected to analysis of variance in a complete randomized design.

Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria, between November and December 2014.

Methodology: A total of one hundred and eighty Marshal strain Broiler chicks (n = 180) fed Aspergillus niger treated meals, namely: Raw Defatted Fermented Meal (RDFM), Toasted Defatted Fermented Meal (TDFM), Cooked Defatted Fermented Meal (CDFM), Lye treated Defatted Fermented Meal (LDFM) and Sand roasted Defatted Fermented Meal (ZDFM) were evaluated in a 21 day feeding trial. Six (6) dietary treatments were formulated such that Diet 1 contained 0% Jatropha curcas kernel Meal while diets 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 contained 10.33% (one-third replacement of soybean meal) inclusion level of RDFM, TDFM, CDFM, LDFM and ZDFM.

Results: The red blood cell, eosinophyll, basophyll, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and mean corpuscular volume, alanine transaminase, cholesterol, triglyceride and acid phosphatase were significantly influenced (p<0.05) by the dietary treatments while the values obtained for lactobacilli count was higher than that of E. coli within the treatments in the gut of the birds.

Conclusion: Prolong exposure might posed serious health challenge to the birds. It can also be concluded that Lactobacillus thrived in the gut of the broiler chicks than E. coli, although the populations of both were reduced.