Variation in Body Weights and Immune Response of FUNAAB Alpha and Exotic Broiler Chickens Inoculated with Attenuated Eimeria tenella Vaccine

Background and Objective: Coccidiosis is one of the pathogenic diseases of economic importance to broiler chickens in the tropics. The aim of this study was to investigate the variation in body weight and immune response of FUNAAB Alpha and exotic broiler chickens inoculated with attenuated Eimera tenella vaccine. Materials and Methods: The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design for a period of 8 weeks. The experimental birds consist of 200 broilers of 2 breeds namely: Three strains of FUNAAB Alpha (normal feather, frizzle feather and naked neck) and one breed of exotic chicken (Arbor Acre). The body weight, haematological parameters and lesion counts were collected and analyzed for the effects of genotype pre and post-inoculation. Results: The Arbor Acre broiler chickens had significantly (p<0.05) heaviest body weight at days 0, 6 and 15. There is variation in haematological responses to E. tenella challenged among the four broiler genotypes with the highest (p<0.05) values of haematological parameters recorded in FUNAAB Alpha broilers. The oocyte counts, caecal and mucosa lesions were higher (p<0.05) in Arbor Acre broilers. Conclusion: Therefore, the FUNAAB Alpha broilers can be selected against coccidiosis diseases for the development of broiler chickens or meat free from protozoan contamination in Nigeria.