Haematological parameters, lipid and hormonal profile of heat stressed broilers fed beniseed (<i>sesamum indicum</i>) oil

Abstract

High ambient temperature (above 30°C) in the tropics has been reported to cause negative effect on growth, feed efficiency and survivability of chicks in poultry production leading to increased cost of production with consequent low profit for farmers as well as impacting negatively on the welfare of the animals. The effect of Sesamum indicum oil on haematological parameters and lipid profile of heat stressed broilers was examined in this study. One hundred and sixty day old Ross broiler chicks were assigned in a completely randomized design to five treatments and four replicate groups of eight (8) chicks each which were fed ad libitum for 42 days. The diets were formulated to meet the nutrient requirement of the birds. Sesamum indicum (SSO) replaced dietary maize at 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8% on equi-energy basis throughout the feeding trial. From day 28 to 42, all broilers were challenged by heat stress of 29±1°C for 10h per day. Most of the hematology parameters measured were unaffected by SSO diets, except for heterophils, lymphocytes and their ratio at 4% SSO diet which thus showed superiority in coping with heat stress.