Blood biochemical profile of Deccani lambs fed hydroponic maize fodder - based total mixed ration

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted to study the blood biochemical profile of Deccani lambs fed hydroponic maize fodder-based total mixed ration (TMR) during an experimental period of 110 days. A total of 24 Deccani lambs were randomly allotted to four treatment groups, with six lambs in each group. The experimental groups consisted of T0 (control), T1, T2 and T3. The average age of the lambs was six months, and the average body weights were 25.38kg, 24.88 kg, 24.68 and 25.44 kg for T0, T1, T2 and T3 groups, respectively. Treatment T0 contained zero percent hydroponic maize whereas T1, T2 and T3 diets contained 20%, 40% and 60% hydroponic maize, respectively, in the total mixed ration. The experiment was conducted using a Randomized Block Design. Blood biochemical parameters, namely serum albumin, serum globulin, serum urea nitrogen, serum total protein, serum cholesterol, serum triglyceride, serum uric acid, serum creatinine and serum glucose were analyzed. The results indicated that replacing concentrate mixture with hydroponic maize fodder in the TMR did not significantly (p>0.05) influence the blood biochemical profile among all the treatment groups.