Diets effects on body mass, pectoral muscle, fat, PCV, and HBC
We sampled birds randomly per aviary between 0600 hrs. and 1000 hrs.,
and returned them together after the last bird had been sampled from a
room during each sampling session. Birds were held in soft dark cloth
bags after capturing from the aviary and after sampling to minimize
stress (Nwaogu et al., 2020). We weighed each bird with a digital
weighing scale and scored pectoral muscle and fat on a scale of 1-3 and
0-9, respectively (Redfern & Clark, 2001). We collected 75 µl of blood
from each bird into a heparinized micro-haematocrit tube after
puncturing the brachial vein with a needle. The blood sample was then
emptied into ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) bottle, stored on
ice, and transported to the National Veterinary Research Institute
(NVRI) Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria for determination of PCV following
methods describe by Turkson & Ganyo (2015). To measure the HBC of each
bird, micro-haematocrit tube was filled with 10 µl of whole blood and
dropped on the strip of a portable handheld haemoglobinometer and the
HBC (g -1dl) was recorded.