T. Sujatha

Grommune: Morinda citrifolia-based herbal tonic for growth and immunity for commercial broilers

A herbal tonic (Grommune) was prepared from Morinda citrifolia fruit juice and fed to the broilers at various levels viz., 5 ml, 10 ml and 15 ml, and one group was kept as control. The result revealed that highest body weight (3.06 ± 0.10 kg) and better feed conversion ratio (FCR; 2.53) were recorded in the group fed with 15 ml of tonic as compared to the other groups though it was not significantly higher. The humoral immune response revealed significantly higher titre values with increase in level of tonic supplementation. The result indicated that feeding of herbal tonic at the dosage of 15 ml per bird up to 4 weeks and 30 ml per bird up to 8th week of age improved the body weight, FCR and immune competency status of broilers.

Haemato-Biochemical Profile of the Teressa Goat: An Indigenous Goat of A&N Islands, India

Haematological studies of the native Teressa goat found in A&N Islands, under open grazing system, was carried out with an aim to determine the base-line information of haematological and biochemical parameters as influenced by sex. Significant (P < 0.001) sex differences were evident on packed cell volume, haemoglobin, white blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), granulocyte % and biochemical parameters. The observed haematological value showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher WBC (22.97), granulocytes % (47.72), RBC (1.48), haemoglobin (12 g/dl) and hematrocit level (HCT) (26.22) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) in the male Teressa goat as compared with female. However, there was no significant difference in lymphocytes between male and female Teressa goats. Significantly (P < 0.05) higher alanine amonotransferase (ALT) (25.7 U/l) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (83.3 U/l) and significantly (P < 0.05) lower cholesterol (75 mg/dl), triglyceride (17.3 mg/dl) and urea (15.5 mg/dl) were recorded in male. Generally, it has been observed that animals in the area of study were found to be averagely healthier and adapted to Island climatic condition. The generated haematological and biochemical values of Teressa goats in the present study may be used as base or platform for further study in these native Teressa goats.

Reproductive and productive performances of crossbred Andaman local pigs under small holder production system at Bay Islands, India

The present study appraises different traditional feeding practices followed by farmers and effect of dietary zinc supplementation on the reproductive and productive performances of crossbred Andaman local pigs. In the 1st experiment the effect of three feeding practices were evaluated and in the 2nd experiment the effect of supplementation of 80 ppm Zn on growth of weanling piglets were evaluated. The locally available feed ingredients like rice bran, taro (Colocasia esculenta) leaves, broken rice, broken wheat, maize, and coconut cake were used in different proportion for feeding. The different reproductive parameters like the mean age at puberty, age at first conception and first farrowing and various litter traits varied significantly (<0.01) among the three treatment groups. In the next experiment the effect of Zn supplementation on post weaning growth performances of piglets were studied. In treatment group (n=5) 80 ppm Zn was supplemented along with normal farm diet where as in control group (n=5) normal diet was given. The experiment continued for three months. The results showed that the sow receiving the ration made up of coconut cake, broken rice or maize performed better than the sow receiving ration made up of colocasia leaves and rice bran in respect of reproductive performances. Similarly, inclusion of 80 ppm Zn in stater ration enhanced the daily body weight.