Abstract:
This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different levels of ghee
residue inclusion in finisher diets on the blood serum metabolites and haematological
indices of broiler chickens at the finisher stage. Two hundred and sixteen broiler
chickens were randomly assigned to six treatment groups in a RCBD, with three
replicates per treatment. The treatments comprised diets containing 0% (T1), 3% (T2),
6% (T3), 9% (T4), and 12% (T5) ghee residue, where T1–T5 were self-formulated
diets, while T6 was a commercially procured finisher diet. At 42 days, blood was
collected from the jugular vein. Serum metabolites were analyzed using CRD, and
results showed significant (p < 0.05) differences among dietary treatments. Birds were
fed the T1 diet recorded the highest values for triglycerides (40.10 mg/dL), HDL (73.50
mg/dL), LDL (57.43 mg/dL), total cholesterol (138.47 mg/dL), and serum protein
(3.90 g/dL), compared to the T1 (30.43 mg/dL, 59.03 mg/dL, 40.23 mg/dL, 105.50
mg/dL, and 2.77 g/dL, respectively). Birds fed the commercial finisher diet (T6)
exhibited intermediate levels. In contrast, serum glucose concentration decreased
significantly (p<0.05) with higher ghee residue inclusion, declining from 240.33 mg/dL
in T1 to 221.10 mg/dL in T5. Haematological parameters were also significantly
(p<0.05) affected by dietary treatments. The highest red blood cell count (3.96 ×
10⁶/μL), haemoglobin (12.96 g/dL), PCV (40.10%), and MCV (129.67 fl) were observed
in T5, compared to lower values in T1. White blood cells differentials, including
neutrophils and lymphocytes, also differed significantly among treatments. In contrast,
eosinophil and monocyte counts were not significantly affected (p > 0.05), and
basophils were not detected in any of the treatments. The findings indicate that
inclusion of ghee residue in broiler finisher diets at levels up to 12% significantly
influenced the blood profile without causing any harmful effects and indicating that it
can be considered a promising alternative feed ingredient in broiler production.
