Advances in Crop Science and Technology
Open Access

Abstract

An eight-week feeding trial was conducted to determine the effect of supplementing the diet of communal cattle with different levels of groundnut shells (GNS) on hematological parameters. Thirty-five cattle were randomly allocated to five treatment groups (A, B, C, D and E) with seven animals in each group. The basal diet consisted of blue buffalo grass and water ad libitium. Treatment group A received the basal diet and water only. Treatment group B was supplemented with 700g/kg of GNS, C with 1050 g/kg of GNS, D with 1400g/kg of GNS and E with 1750g/kg of GNS. Blood was collected once a week for eight weeks. An analysis was done through the IDEXX Catalyst machine. In each of the parameters measured, the animals receiving 1050g/kg of GNS had higher values compared to the control group and all other treatment groups even those supplemented at higher levels of GNS. The parameters in which the values were significantly (P<0.05) higher in the group offered the 1050g/kg GNS compared to the controls were red blood cells (RBCs), lymphocytes (LYM), monocytes (MONO), eosinophils (EOS) and platelets (PLT). These results would indicate that supplementing the diet with GNS with a crude protein of 11.67% or higher would improve the animal’s ability to produce more RBCs, LYM, MONO, EOS and PLT and thereby improve the health and productivity of the cattle.

Biography

E-mail: kgobebg@unisa.ac.za