1Department of Animal Health and Production, University of Nigeria, Nsukk, Nigeria
2Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
*Corresponding author's e-mail: festus.abonyi@unn.edu.ng
Online published on 19 October, 2015.
Landrace x Duroc crossbred intact male pigs (n=24) weighing between 11.05 to 11.35kg and aged 7.5 to 8.0 weeks were assigned to four treatments groups (A, B, C and D) by a complete randomized design. A common grower diet was supplemented with ZnO at 100 (A, control), 1000 (B), 1500 (C) and 2000mg/kg (D), and fed to the animals ad libitum for 10 weeks. Their feed intake, weight gainand feed: gain, packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentration (Hb), red blood cell count (RBC), total white blood cell (TWBC), differential white blood cell (DWBC) and insulin profile were determined.
There were no significant(P > 0.05) differences indailyfeed intake, feed: gain and in most haematological parameters investigated. Lymphocyte count was significantly (P < 0.05) higher amongthe groups fed high ZnO supplemented diet. A dose dependent increase in insulin profile was observed. Growth performancewas best at inclusion rate of 1000mg/kg of ZnO.
Feed supplementation, Grower diets, Immune status, Pig performance, Nigeria, Swine
