Haemato-Biochemical Profile of Yankasa Rams Fed Varying Levels of Panicum maximum Concentrate Mix under Intensive Feedlot in Southwestern Nigeria

Background: Paucity of information on the effect of feeding varying proportions of grass and concentrate supplements on the blood constituents of Yankasa rams exist in sub humid zone of Nigeria. Method: Twenty yearling Yankasa rams of an average body weight of 21.33 ± 0.50 Kg were evaluated for haematological and biochemical constituents. Basal diet of Panicum maximum fodder replaced by concentrate mix at 0 (Treatment 1, T1), 0.5 (Treatment 2, T2), 1.0 (Treatment 3, T3), 1.5 (Treatment 4, T4) and 2.0% (Treatment 5, T5) body weight of rams were fed in a randomized complete block design for 84 days. The amount of feed offered was adjusted weekly based on average body weight from the preceding week. Results: Mean values of packed cell volume (PCV), and red blood cell in T5 (32.08 ± 0.3% and10.17 ± 0.21 × 106 µL respectively) were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of other treatments with T1 having the least values. The values for mean corpuscular volume mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration also followed the same trend. The value of white blood cells of T1 was not significantly (p>0.05) different from T2 to T5. Biochemical parameters showed that values of total protein (TP), albumin (alb), globulin (glb), triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) in T1 were significantly reduced when compared to other treatments except T3 which showed no difference to control in TG values. Treatment 1 recorded an increase in high density lipoprotein but statistically (p>0.05) similar values (45.17 ± 0.66 mg dl-1) were observed when compared with the other treatments. Conclusion: Health status using haemato-biochemical parameters indicated concentrate mix at 2.0% body weight of rams as the most acceptable supplement level for Yankasa rams.