Abstract :
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing fish meal with grasshopper meal on haematology, blood chemistry and carcass characteristics of growing rabbits. Forty rabbits of mixed breeds, aged 6-10 weeks, were randomly assigned to the dietary treatments in a complete randomized design with eight rabbits per treatment. The rabbits were fed with diets containing 0, 1.25, 2.50, 3.75 and 5% grasshopper meal in diets designated as T1 (control), T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively. The experimental diets and clean drinking water were supplied ad libitum throughout the experimental period of nine weeks. At the end of the feeding trial, three rabbits per treatment were slaughtered for carcass evaluation, while blood samples were collected for analysis. The result of the experiment showed significant differences (P<0.05) among the treatments for packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) but there was no significant effect (P>0.05) on haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC). The results also revealed significant differences (P<0.05) for serum globulin, glucose, cholesterol, urea and creatinine but there was no significant effect (P>0.05) on serum albumin and total protein. The results of carcass characteristics showed significant differences among treatments (P<0.05) for slaughter weight, carcass weight, dressing percentage, skin pelt, tail, feet and abdominal fat. The slaughter weight and carcass weight were better in groups receiving 2.5% grass hopper meal (50% fish meal replacement). From the results, it can be concluded that inclusion of 2.50% grasshopper meal as a replacement for fish meal (50% replacement) has no adverse effects on the haematological parameters, serum biochemistry and carcass characteristics of rabbits
