Haematology, serum biochemistry and economic characteristics of cockerels fed diets containing varying levels of water hyacinth [Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms-Laubach] meal supplemented with Maxigrain® enzyme

The haematology, serum biochemistry and economic characteristics of two hundred and eighty-eight (288) nine-week-old Black Harco strain cockerels fed diets containing water hyacinth (Echhornia crassipes) meal supplemented with or without exogenous enzymes was investigated. Water hyacinth was included at 0, 10 and 20 % dietary inclusion levels as replacement for wheat offal without enzyme supplementation to form Diet 1, Diet 2 and Diet 3, respectively; and then supplemented with exogenous enzymes to form Diet 4, Diet 5 and Diet 6, respectively. The cockerels were randomly allocated to six treatment groups replicated three times to have 16 chicks per replicate; and were fed the experimental diets ad libitum for 9 weeks under a deep litter management system. At the end of the feeding trial, blood samples were collected for the evaluation of the haematological characteristics and biochemical profile of the cockerels. Economic characteristics in terms of cost of feed per kg, total cost of feed consumed per animal and cost of feed consumed per kg weight gain were evaluated. Results show that only white blood cell (leucocytes) and red blood cell (erythrocytes) count were significantly (p<0.05) different among the treatments. There were no significant (p>0.05) differences in packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration; as well as in neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes and monocytes concentration. For the biochemical indices, total bilirubin level, conjugate bilirubin level, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and total protein were significantly (p<0.05) different among the various dietary treatments. There were no significant (p>0.05) differences in cost per kg weight gain between birds fed the 0, 10 and 20 % WHM; but cost savings for 10 and 20 % dietary inclusion of WHM were ₦2.36 and ₦4.89, respectively. Based on the haematology, serum biochemistry and economic characteristics of cockerels, water hyacinth meal can be included up to 20 % in the diet of cockerels at the chick phase without any detrimental effect on their performance.Keywords: Cockerels, haematological characteristics, water hyacinth, wheat offa