Performance Of West African Dwarf Sheep Fed Diets Supplemented With Rare Earth Elements (Ree)

An experiment to investigate the possible growth promoting effect of rare earth elements (REE) in growing West African dwarf sheep as well as their influence on the haematological and blood serum biochemical changes was conducted for 12 weeks. Forty West African dwarf sheep were allotted to four dietary treatments: a control group and the REE-treated groups that were supplemented with 100mg, 200mg and 300mg of REE (Lanthanum oxide) per kg feed constituting diets A, B, C and D respectively. The whole feeding trial lasted for 3 months during which the experimental animals were fed ad-libitum. The REE groups had a better daily weight gain, total weight gain and also feed conversion. REE had no significant (p>0.05) influence on Aspartate amino transferase (AST), Alanine amino transferase (ALT), Cholesterol, Urea, total protein, albumin and globulin. All the haematological parameters were not significantly influenced by the REE treatment except the WBC, which was significantly higher compared to the control group. Keywords: Performance, West African Dwarf sheep, rare earth metalsJOAFSS Vol. 4 (1) 2006: pp. 166-174