Haematological and serum biochemical parameters of rabbits fed varying dietary levels of water spinach (Ipomoea aquatic) leaf meal

Twenty four rabbits of mixed breeds aged between 10-12 weeks, weighing between 900 – 1000g were used in an experiment to determine the effect of feeding varying dietary levels of water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) leaf meal on haematological and serum biochemical parameters of rabbits. The rabbits were randomly allocated into four treatments, T1, T2, T3 and T4 containing 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% of water spinach leaf meal respectively (Table 1). Feed and water were served ad libitum throughout the 8 weeks experimental period. At the end of the feeding trial 3 rabbits per treatment were sacrificed and analysis done on blood samples. The result indicated there was no significant (P> 0.05) influence of diet on all the haematological parameters studied. There was also no significant (P>0.05) effect of diet was observed on serum biochemical parameters except serum glucose that was significantly reduced in the control diet. This result shows that water spinach meal can be included up to 15% in rabbit diets without adverse effect on haematology and serum biochemistry of rabbits.