Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of different bedding materials on the, hematological and serum biochemical parameters of the broiler chickens. A completely randomized design was employed for the research in which the treatment were five bedding materials (rice hulls, groundnut hulls, wood shaving, sharp sand and control). The treatments were replicated three times each with ten birds in each experimental unit. The birds were brooded for two weeks before the experiment begin. The blood samples were collected at day 56 of experiment for hematological and serum biochemical analysis. There was no significant difference in the glucose, serum total protein, globulin, calcium, sodium, total bilirubin, conjugated bilirubin, and serum alanine transferase, but there was a significant difference in serum cholesterol, albumin, bicarbonate and serum aspartate transferase within the groups. The findings also indicated in the hematological parameters that bedding materials caused significant difference in the hemoglobin content, white blood cell count and mean corpuscular hemoglobin, but no significant differences in the other parameters (Heterophils, monocytes, basophils, lymphocytes, mean cell volume and packed cell volume) were seen. The results suggested that rice, hulls, groundnut hulls and sharp sand can serve appropriately as bedding materials for broiler production, with compatible effects on serum biochemical and hematological parameters.