Growth Performance and Haematological Evaluation in Female Rabbit Fed Diets Containing Supplemental Levels of Dried Date (Phoenix dactylifera) Fruit Meal

This study was carried out to assess the growth performance and haematological profile of female rabbits that were fed dried date fruit meal (DDFM) as supplement in their diets. Thirty-six (36) female rabbits (does) were used for the study. The rabbit does were randomly allotted to 4 experimental groups in a completely randomized design with 9 does in each treatment group. The does in each treatment group were regrouped into 3 replications with 3 animals per replicate. The four experimental diets containing the dried date fruit meal at 0.00, 0.50, 1.00 and 1.50% supplemental levels respectively, were tagged T1, T2. T3, and T4. The study lasted for 168 days (24 weeks). The growth parameters that were assessed in the study were initial body weight, final body weight, total and daily body weight gain, total and daily feed intake, and feed conversion ratio. Blood samples were collected at the end of the 24 weeks study from each replicate for haematological analysis to evaluated packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), hemoglobin (HB), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), Neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils and lymphocytes. The results revealed that there were significant differences (P=.05) in final body weight, total body weight gain, daily body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio of the does across the treatments. The results revealed significant effects (P=.05) of the DDFM on Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Platelet count, and Haemoglobin (Hb) concentration. The PCV value was highest for the does fed diet T3 (36.67%), which was significantly higher than the values recorded for the animals fed on diets T1 (30.33%) and T2 (30.67%). Conclusion: including DDFM as supplement in rabbit does diets at 1.00% can improve growth traits and haematological indices, to enhance the overall health status of rabbits.