Haematological and Serum Biochemical Characteristics of West African Dwarf Goats Fed Complete Diets Containing Graded Levels of Sweet Orange Peel Meal

Sixteen West African Dwarf (WAD) goats of about 6 - 8 months of age, having an average weight of 6.79 kg were used in a completely randomised design to evaluate the haematology and serum biochemistry of WAD goats fed diets containing graded levels of sweet orange peel meal (SOPM). Four dietary treatments were formulated and compounded to contain 0%, 12.5%, 25%, and 50% of SOPM, and these were designated T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively, and the study lasted for 84 days. Results showed that haematological parameters such as; haemoglobin (Hb), red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), did not show significant difference (P>0.05) among the treatments means. Serum biochemical components such as urea, total protein (TP), albumin, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and creatinine also did not show any significant variation among the treatments. The study showed that replacement of maize offal with SOPM up to 50% level in the complete diets of WAD goats did not adversely affect their haematology and serum biochemistry.