Volume 12, Issue 26, July - December 2026

Hematology and Serum Biochemical Parameters of Kano Brown Bucks Fed Ensiled Cereal and Legume Fodders Supplemented with Concentrate Diets in Semi-Arid Region of Nigeria

Faruq Usman Yakubu¹, Rabi Muhammad Ashiru¹, Umar Ibrahim¹, Mubarak Ahmed Hassan²

¹Department of Animal Science, Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology Wudil, Kano state, Nigeria
²Department of Agricultural Education, Saadatu Rimi College of Education Kumbotso, Kano state, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT

The experiment was conducted to determine the hematology and serum biochemical parameters of Kano Brown bucks fed ensiled cereal and legume fodders supplemented with concentrate diets. Eighteen (18) Kano Brown bucks with an average live weight of 10.59±0.07kg were allotted to six (6) dietary treatments with three (3) replications in a completely randomized design (CRD). Cereal and legume fodders were chopped and ensiled at different combinations as; maize stover + cowpea haulms + (60:40), maize stover + groundnut haulms (60:40), maize stover + cowpea haulms + groundnut haulms (60:20:20), sorghum stover + cowpea haulms + (60:40), sorghum stover + groundnut haulms (60:40), sorghum stover + cowpea haulms + groundnut haulms (60:20:20) designated as T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 respectively. The silages were offered at 4% body weight daily in the morning, after which the animals were supplemented with concentrate diets at 1.5% of body weight daily in the evening for 84 days. The parameters determined include the chemical composition of the ensiled forages and concentrate diets and blood metabolites. The results for chemical composition of the silages showed that forage combinations in treatments 6 and 3 had the highest crude protein content. Hematological and serum biochemical values obtained were significantly (P<0.05) higher in T6 and T3 and within the normal physiological ranges. In conclusion, Forage combination containing sorghum stover + cowpea haulms + groundnut haulms, 60:20:20 (T6) had the best crude protein content. All the values for hematology and serum biochemical parameters were within the normal physiological ranges for healthy goats; therefore, all the forage combination has no deleterious effects on animal health and therefore, recommended.

Keywords: Kano Brown bucks, Hematology, Serum, Silage, Haulms, Stover

Discovery Agriculture, 2026, 12, e20da3223

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Published: 03 September 2026