Abstract
A 12-week feeding trial was carried out using 30 West African Dwarf (WAD) bucks of age between six and eight months with mean initial body weight of 9.36±1.31 kg, to determine the effect of sun-dried, urea-treated and fermented dietary cocoa pod husk meal (CPHM) as well as dietary CPHM with protein supplementation (African yam bean meal) on blood characteristics. Five experimental diets: T1 (0% CPHM-control), T2 (40% sundried CPHM), T3 (40% ureatreated CPHM), T4 (40% fermented CPHM) and T5 (40% CPHM and 10% African yambean) were formulated. Six animals per treatment were randomly assigned to the experimental diets using a CRD. Blood parameters (haematological and serum biochemical indices) were evaluated at the end of the feeding trial. Results of the study showed that the White blood cell counts, packed cell volume and red blood cell counts were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by dietary treatments. In terms of serum chemistry, higher values of urea were recorded in sundried (6.57 mmol/l) and protein supplemented (6.57 mmol/l) groups, followed by the fermented group (6.17mmol/l). Calcium (2.24 mmol/l) and total protein (7.44g/dl) were highest in urea-treated CPHM group followed by the protein supplemented group (1.84 mmol/l and 7.37g/dl) and lowest in the sundried CPHM group (1.14 mmol/l and 6.21g/dl) respectively. The study concludes that blood composition of WAD bucks was best in the urea-treated and protein supplemented groups respectively, and 40% cocoa pod husk meal supplemented with 10% protein (African yambean) can be incorporated in the diets of WAD bucks without fear of compromising haematological and serum biochemical ndices.Keywords: Cocoa pod husk, Urea, Fermented, Protein supplemented, WAD bucks
Highlights
Goats play a significant role in supplying protein to humans and paying close attention to their feed supply will to a great extent increase their productivity
The result revealed that the crude protein content of the sundried cocoa pod husk meal (CPHM) (8.53 percent) is not statistically different from that of the urea treated CPHM (9.47 percent)
Esong et al (2015) recorded a crude protein content of 8.00 % for sundried CPHM which is slightly lower than the value obtained in this study and higher than the values reported by Aregheore (2002) (6.20 %) and Adegunloye and Famolu (2016) (6.11 %)
Summary
Goats play a significant role in supplying protein to humans and paying close attention to their feed supply will to a great extent increase their productivity They are highly productive and are reared not just as a source of income to the farmers and provide milk and meat (Jansen and Van Den Burg, 2004). To reduce feed cost and solve the problem of feed availability, farmers have resorted to the use of nonconventional feed ingredients to maintain their animals and in some cases to totally replace maize as an energy source in animal feeds (Esong et al, 2015) This may be attributed to the nutrient qualities hidden in them. The limitation in the use of most crop residues is that majority of them have a characteristically high crude fibre and low protein contents Their nutritional quality can be improved when subjected to various treatments (physical, biological and chemical treatments).
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