The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effects of Sabara leaf meal on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and haematological parameters of red Sokoto goats. Bucks were managed in a complete randomized design with 4 treatments and 3 replicates. The Sabara leaf meal (SLM) was fed at concentration of 0, 10, 20 and 30% in treatment 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The experimental diets and clean drinking water were offered to the animals ad libitum. Initial body weights were all similar. Bucks fed diets with 10 and 20% Sabara leaf meal (SLM) gained weight (P<0.05) faster than those fed the control diets. Feed intake differ significantly (P<0.001) among the groups. T4 recorded superior feed intake compared to T1, T2 and T3. Body weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) increased with levels of Sabara leaf meal (SLM) in the diets up to a point (T3) with bucks on 20% Sabara leaf meal (SLM) being heavier. The metabolizable energy (CP), crude fibre (CF), ether extracts (EE) and nitrogen free extract (NFE) digestibilities also differed significantly (P<0.05) among the treatments. Similarly, the DM, CF, CP and EE digestibilities of T3 were superior to the control (T1).Hemoglobin(Hb), mean corpuscular volume(MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and platelets differed (P<0.05, P<0.01) among treatments. However, packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC) and mean corpuscular hemoglobinconcentration (MCHC) were not significantly (P>0.05) affected. The white blood cells differentials were slightly different between treatment groups but all remains within the reference range. The results of this study indicated that Sabara leaf meal could be used as feed resources to raise goats. The levels of least Sabara leaf meal (SLM) from 20 to 30% gave high growth performance and better benefits without adverse effect on biological performance. More research is needed to evaluate Sabara leaf meal on growth performance and nutrient utilization by goats. تفاصيل المقالة

The effect of genotype and sex of Nigerian indigenous chickens (dwarf, Fulani ecotypes, neck, frizzle and normal feathered) on blood serum electrolytes and biochemical parameters were investigated using 40 chickens. The collected data were subjected to analysis via a 2 way ANOVA. The results revealed serum levels of sodium, potassium, chloride, uric acid, glucose, total protein, creatinin, albumin and globulin were 145.23±27.18 mmoi/L, 8.05±2.39 mmoi/L, 106.33±11.27 mmoi/L, 3.57±1.47 mg/µL, 44.87±17.57 mg/dL, 72.20±8.42 g/L, 74.50±12.98 µmoi/L, 38.30±4.84 g/L and 33.30±5.95 g/L respectively. Creatinin in the female birds was significantly higher than in males (P<0.05). The serum chloride, potassium, globulin, glucose and uric acid were also significantly different across the genotype. Serum chloride and glucose were higher in dwarf chickens, whilst potassium was higher in neck chickens and higher globulin levels were observed in frizzle chickens compared to the other four genotypes. The study revealed a significant effect of sex on creatinin and genotype onvarious physiological characters of Nigerian indigenous chicken. تفاصيل المقالة

A study was carried out to evaluate the secondary sexual characteristics of four strains of cocks, comprising of two (2) exotics; Bovan Nera Black (BNB) and Isa Brown (ISB), one (1) improved local strain, Shika Brown (SB) and one (1) unimproved local strain, normal feathered cock (NFC). A total of 64 birds (16 for each strain) at 36, 38, 40 and 42 weeks were used for the study. The result indicated that shank length, comb length, comb width, wattle length and wattle width were all significantly (P<0.001) affected by strains, with the exotic strains being superior to the local cocks. Age × strain interactions were also found to be significant. Phenotypic correlations between the secondary sexual characters were found to be significantly high and positive. The correlation between the secondary sexual characters and semen characteristics showed that shank length, wattle length and width, comb length and width had a positive correlation with semen volume (r=0.123, 0.335, 0.195 and 0.408 and 0.348 P<0.01), total sperm count (r=0.202, 0.300, 0.188, 0.403 and 0.320 P<0.05) and normal sperm (r=0.175, 0.143, 0.026, 0.155 and 0.065 P<0.05) respectively. Shank length has a positive correlation with sperm motility (0.010) and dead sperm (0.026), but a negative correlation with live spermatozoa. The result of this study shows a considerable similarity among the strains of cocks with respect to secondary sexual traits. Therefore, it may be inferred from this study that length of shank, comb and wattle are good predictors of semen attributes in male chickens. Selecting cocks with larger shank length, comb and wattle size can improve the semen quality and subsequently, results to higher fertility. تفاصيل المقالة