Effect of Replacing Bone Ash with Fresh Water Snail (Pila ampullacea) Shell Ash on Haematological Indices of Weaner Rabbits
F. B. P. Abang *
Department of Animal Production, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria.
S. Attah
Department of Animal Production, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria.
E. Zoo
Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Gbajimba, Guma, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Twenty five (25) mixed breed weaner rabbits were utilized in an 84 - day experiment to investigate the effect of replacing bone ash with fresh water snail (Pila ampullacea) shell ash on the haematological indices of weaner rabbits. Five experimental diets (T1 - T5) were formulated such that fresh water snail (Pila ampullacea) shell ash replaced bone ash at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% for treatments T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 respectively. The rabbits were randomly assigned to the five dietary treatments and replicated five times with one rabbit per replicate in a completely randomized design (CRD). The study showed that the haematological parameters were not affected (P˃0.05) by the dietary treatments. This study revealed that fresh water snail (Pila ampullacea) shell ash can serve as a substitute for bone ash in weaner rabbits diet up to 100% without compromising their health status.
Keywords: Rabbit, freshwater snail shell, bone ash and haematological indices