BLOOD BIOCHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF GESTATING RABBIT DOES AS AFFECTED BY VITAMIN E INCLUSION AND PERIODS OF FEED RESTRICTIONDURING PREGNANCY

摘要

Blood plays a vital role in the physiological, nutrition and pathological status of an organism (Aderemi, 2004; Doyle, 2006).The examination of blood gives the opportunity to investigate the presence of several metabolites and other constituents in the body of animals.Thus.this study aimed to evaluate the effect of feed restriction during pregnancy with or without vitamin E on the blood biochemical constituents of gestating rabbit does. A total of Seventy five (75) rabbits consisting of sixty (60) 20weeks old does of mixed breeds (Chinchilla, Dutch and New Zealand) with initial live weights of 1.7-2.0 kg were randomly assigned into 12 treatment groups of 5 replicates each during pregnancy.The rabbit does were exposed to two levels of quantitative feed restriction (0% and 15%) at three different periods of gestation (15-19 days, 20-24 days and 25-29 days) with or without vitamin E inclusion (0 and 300mg/kg). Data obtained on their blood biochemical indices were subjected to Analysis of Variance ina completely randomized design. Significantly (P<0.05) higher total protein and albumin after kindling was obtained for gestating rabbit does on 15% and 0% restriction without vitamin E inclusion at 25-29 days and 15-19 days of gestation respectively. Although significant, it is within the range of values reported by some authors as baseline data for blood values in growing rabbits. Hence, it can be concluded that feed restriction and periods of feed restriction with or without vitamin E inclusion doesnot have any negative or detrimental effects on blood biochemical constituents of gestating rabbit does.