Abstract
A six-week study was conducted to evaluate the effects of partial replacement of maize with Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) root meal on the haematological parameters and serum biochemistry of broiler chickens at finisher phase. One hundred and eight (108) day old broiler chicks were randomly allotted into 4 dietary treatments (T1, T2, T3 and T4) with 3 replicates each and 9 birds per replicate. The test ingredient, OFSP root meal was included in broiler finisher diets as replacement for maize at 0%, 6%, 12% and 18% in the dietary treatments respectively. The study revealed no effect on all the haematological parameters. The result of the serum biochemistry also showed no significant differences (P>0.05) on all the parameters measured with the exception of triglycerides, globulin and blood urea nitrogen with significant decrease in the triglycerides (mg/dl) and globulin (g/dl) content of T2(24.80 and 0.37), T3(47.01 and 1.07) and T4(48.50 and 1.41) respectively as compared with the control group (61.54 and 1.95 respectively). Therefore, inclusion of OFSP root meal up to 18% did not negatively affect the haematological parameters of the birds and also reduced the risk of metabolic diseases in the birds while improving the cardiovascular health of the birds.