Haematological Reactions of Rabbit Bucks to the Intake of Graded Levels of White Mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) Leaves (Plant with Ethno-Veterinary Importance) in the Humid Tropics

A study was conducted to investigate some haematological response of adult buck rabbits fed graded levels of white mangrove (Longuculeria reacemosa) leaves. A twelve weeks feeding trial was conducted using twenty-four adult buck rabbis. They were randomly allocated into four dietary treatments namely, A, (feed, free of the additive plant), B, C and D had inclusion levels of 70g/kg, 80g/kg and 90g/kg. Randomized complete Block Design (RCBD) was applied in this study and the bucks were kept in compartments of six rabbits per group. Each group had three replicates with two rabbits per replicate. At the end of the feeding trial, some haematological indices of the buck rabbits were investigated. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in the mean value of haemoglobin (HB), red blood cell (RBC), and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) with groups C and D having slightly higher values, while the control (A), B and group D recorded higher values of packed cell volume (PCV) than C. No significant effect (P > 0.05) was observed on the mean value of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) amongst the treatments. It was therefore concluded that up to 90g/kg of Languculeria recemosa inclusion rate can be used as enhancer in diet of buck rabbit with no adverse effect.