Feed Intake, Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of West African Dwarf Sheep Fed Moringa oleifera, Gliricidia sepium or Cassava Fodder as Supplements to Panicum maximum
Journal Title: Journal of Experimental Agriculture International - Year 2016, Vol 14, Issue 4
Abstract
The performance and carcass characteristics of West African dwarf (WAD) sheep fed Panicum maximum supplemented with Moringa oleifera, Gliricidia sepium or cassava fodder, were investigated in a randomized complete block and completely randomized design experiments respectively. Twenty four growing WAD sheep (10.7 kg average live weight) were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments: 1: 100% P. maximum (control), 2: 75% P. maximum + 25% M. oleifera, 3: 75% P. maximum + 25% G. sepium, 4: 75% P. maximum + 25% Cassava leaves. Dry matter (DM) intake (g/kgW0.75/day) ranged between 74.6 for treatment 4 and 92.7 for treatment 3. Crude protein (CP) intake in treatment 3 was higher than in treatments 1 and 4. Growth rate ranged between 6.53 g/day to 12.74 g/day for treatments 1 and 4 respectively while treatments 2 and 4 had better feed conversion ratio than treatment 1. Average dressing percentage was 33.9% and there was no significant difference in the carcass characteristics among the various treatments. It was concluded that Moringa oleifera is a suitable alternative to Gliricidia sepium as supplement in small ruminant diets.
Authors and Affiliations
A. A. Fadiyimu, J. A. Alokan, A. N. Fajemisin, G. E. Onibi
Keywords
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- EP ID EP351296
- DOI 10.9734/JEAI/2016/25167
- Views 88
- Downloads 0
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