EFFECT OF MORINGA OLEIFERA LEAF AS AN ADDITIVE ON THE HAEMATOLOGY OF WEANER RABBITS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on the Haematological indices of weaner rabbits. Twenty-four (24) New Zealand White male weaner Rabbits were used for this experiment, and were allocated to four treatments (T1 (0g), T2 (10g), T3 (20g) and T4 (30g) respectively with three replicates, and two rabbits per replicate. The investigation lasted for 8 weeks, and the effects of Moringa oleifera as an additive, were determined after obtaining data from Blood samples collected and haematologically analyzed. The addition of Moringa oleifera at different levels had a significant effect (p<0.05) on Hemoglobin, Red blood cells, Mean Volume and White blood cells. It is concluded that, Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) can be incorporated up to 30g/kg of feed inclusion level in the diets of growing rabbits, since it did not have any deleterious effects, but rather had beneficial effects on the haematological status of the Rabbits.