Growth performance, haematology and serum biochemistry of West African dwarf sheep fed cassava peel - oil palm leaf meal based diets in a hot humid tropics

Seasonal dynamics in dry matter degradation of browse in cattle, sheep and goats

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary pigeon pea seed meal on the growth performance and haematological characteristics of West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep. Four diets were formulated to contain pigeon pea seed meal (PSM) at 0, 10, 20 and 30% levels, representing diets A, B, C, and D, respectively. Twelve weaned rams averaging 8.57 kg body weight and aged 7-8 months were used in the study. The rams were divided into 4 groups of 3 rams housed singly in pens, and each group assigned to one of the four diets for 8 weeks in a completely randomized design experiment. Data collected included, average daily weight gain (g), daily dry matter intake (g) and feed conversation ratio (g feed /g grain) calculated. Haematological and biochemical characteristics were also evaluated. Average daily weight gain was significantly (P 0.05). Feed conservation ratio differed significantly (P<0.05) among the groups, with diet C recording better conversion ratio than diets A and D, respectively. The PSM diets generally promoted lower PCV and higher WBC values in sheep. Neutrophil and lymphocytes were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the PSM. While neutrophil increased with increasing level of PSM, the converse was true about lymphocytesood glucose, and urea in the animals were also significantly (P<0.05) influenced by PSM, which followed the same pattern as the nuetrophil and lymphocytes respectively. Serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (SGGTP) and serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (SGGT) were significantly (P<0.05) higher in sheep fed on control diet A than in those fed on either diet C or D. Serum creatinine was significantly (P<0.05) higher in sheep fed on control diet than in those on the PSM diets. The results of this study indicated that processed pigeon pea seed could be used as a plant protein resource for sheep, but may not be included beyond 20% for optimum performance and physiological welfare of the animal.

The study evaluated the nutrient intake, apparent nutrient digestibility, performance and nitrogen balance of West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep fed cassava peel-based diets containing kenaf grain meal (KGM) in replacement of palm kernel cake (PKC). Sixteen female WAD sheep with an average initial live weight of 9.71 ± 0.05 kg were selected for four dietary treatments, having four animals per diet. The diets comprised wilted guinea grass (Panicum maximum) as basal diet and cassava peel based diets with levels of replacement of PKC by KGM at 0 %, 15 %, 20 % and 25 %, respectively, as: 1) (25 % PKC + 0 % KGM), 2) (10 % PKC + 15 % KGM), 3) (5 % PKC + 20 % KGM), and 4) (0 % PKC + 25 % KGM). Increasing levels of KGM in the dietary treatments significantly (p &lt; 0.05) influenced the total feed and nutrient intake (g / kg W0.75), digestibility and weight gain. Total feed intake (108.48 g / kg W0.75 or 662.82 g / day), nutrient intake, feed conversion ratio (21.47) and daily weight gain (30.95 g / day) were outstanding (p &lt; 0.05) when PKC was completely replaced by KGM. Similarly, nutrient digestibility coefficients and nitrogen utilization values differed with increasing level of KGM inclusion, with the peak effects recorded in sheep at 5 % PKC and 20 % KGM inclusions than the other dietary groups. Thus, kenaf grain meal can successfully be used to replace palm kernel cake as an unconventional protein and energy source in cassava peel based diet for WAD sheep without causing any negative impact on nutrient intake and digestibility, nitrogen balance and growth performance.

Adequate knowledge of diversities within and between animal populations will not only help in reducing misidentification in animal husbandry but also aid conservation of many important endangered alleles. A total number of 1195 animals comprising 380 Yankasa sheep, 414 Uda sheep, 224 Balami sheep and 177 West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep were sampled from Osun and Oyo states, South Western Nigeria. Yankasa and WAD were sampled from traditionally managed flock while Balami and Uda sheep were obtained from markets in these states. Seventeen (17) morphometric characters were measured to study their phenotypic variations. The characters measured include rump width (RW), rump length (RL), tail length (TL), wither height (WH), heart girth (HG), paunch girth (PG), rump height (RH), ear length (EL), foreleg length (FLL), rear-leg length (RLL), body length (BL), shoulder width (SW), neck circumference (NC), head length (HeL), head width (HW), horn length (HL) and hock length (HoL). Stepwise multifactorial discriminant analysis was explored to check traits that best differentiate the Nigerian sheep. Length of tail was the most discriminating character among the eight distinguishing traits found. Longest genetic distance was found between WAD and Uda sheep while the closest breeds were Balami and Uda, as indicated by the Euclidian distance. The large Euclidian distance obtained for genetic gap between Uda and WAD sheep gives prospect for improvement if they are crossbred. Since Uda and WAD have been reared successfully in the arid Northern region and trypano-endemic region of Southern humid Nigeria, respectively, crossing WAD with Uda will produce a relatively large, heat tolerant and trypanotolerant hybrid. Key word: Phenotypic variation, Nigerian sheep, discriminant analysis.

This study investigated the nutrient digestibility of West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep fed graded levels of dried pineapple waste (DPW). Twenty 5-7 months old WAD sheep of both sexes, weighing 11.84±0.28kg, were randomly allotted to four treatments of graded levels of dried pineapple waste (Control diet (CD), 15% DPW, 30% DPW and 45% DPW diets) with five animals per treatment in a completely randomized design. Proximate components were determined. Performance characteristics and nutrient digestibility parameter of the WAD sheep were evaluated. Data obtained were statistically analyzed with the General Linear Model of SAS (2008). There were no significant differences (P&gt;0.05) in the mean daily dry matter intake (DMI g/day), average daily weight gain and apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, ether extract, nitrogen free extract and total digestible nutrient (P&gt;0.05) among the experimental sheep. The apparent digestibility coefficient of the crude protein, crude fibre and ash were significantly (P&lt;0.05) affected by the level of DPW in the diet. Digestibility of crude protein (74.98% and 77.06%) for sheep fed 30% DPW and CD were significantly higher than (65.21% and 54.10%) for 15% DPW and 45% DPW, respectively. Digestibility of crude fibre for sheep fed 45% DPW was significantly (P&lt;0.50) lower than others. The study concluded that pineapple waste can be included in the diets of (WAD) sheep up to 45% without any deleterious effect on the performance and nutrient digestibility of WAD sheep.

Crude protein content andin sacco dry matter (DM) loss after 72 h of incubation in West African dwarf (WAD) sheep and goats of fresh, wilted and dried leaves ofGliricidia sepium were compared. Additionally, voluntary DM intakes by WAD sheep and goats ofG. sepium leaves presented in the fresh, wilted and dried states at 10, 20 and 30% levels of supplementation were investigated in two separate experiments. The crude protein content and DM loss from dried leaves were relatively lower than fresh and wilted leaves. At all levels of supplementation, the voluntary DM intakes of fresh and wilted leaves by WAD sheep and goats were relatively higher than dried leaves. The results suggest thatG. sepium leaves should be fed either in the fresh or wilted states to WAD sheep and goats, at levels between 20 and 30% of the total daily DM allowance.

Physiological response of WAD sheep fed different combinations of Guinea grass and ensiled Alternanthera brasiliana (L.) O. Kuntze based diets: Intake, haematology and serum biochemical indices

A 90-day study was conducted to determine the response of semi intensively managed West African dwarf sheep to concentrate supplement containing varying levels of neem leaf meal (NLM). Twenty (20) West African Dwarf sheep aged 5 to 6 months with an average weight of 10kg were used in a Completely Randomized Design with animals grouped into four treatments of five replicates each balanced for weight. The animals were allowed to graze on natural pastures predominantly made up of Panicum maximum in the morning with a daily supplementation of 100g concentrate diet containing varying levels of neem leaf meal at 0, 5, 10 and 15%. Blood samples were taken from the animals before the commencement of the experiment and at the end of the experiment. At the start of the experiment, faecal samples were collected from each animal to determine the faecal egg count and this was repeated once in three weeks for the 90 day experimental period. There was significant (P &lt; 0.05) difference in the haematology indices studied with no definate pattern. The inclusion of NLM in the diets of West African Dwarf sheep significantly (P &lt; 0.05) reduced the faecal egg counts across the treatments with a percentage reduction range of 33.38 to 88.00% for sheep on 0% and 5% NLM, respectively. This study, however, concluded that neem leaf inclusion at 5% in West African dwarf sheep’s diet had effects on the overall performance of the animals with a potential improvement in drastic reduction in faecal egg counts.

A survey of two rural markets in southwest Nigeria over 14 months showed that supplies, sales and prices of sheep and goats varied widely during the period with a sharp peak during the Muslim festival of' Eid‐el‐Kabir and a smaller peak during the Christmas‐New Year period. Local West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep and goats and northern Y'ankasa sheep and Red Sokoto goats were traded in the markets and animals were purchased for rearing, trading, ceremonies, butchering/catering, sacrifice, and festivals. There were significant differences between species/breeds purchased for various purposes. A hedonic price model was fitted to determine factors influencing price. After adjustments were made for age, weight, sex, time of transaction and market, WAD sheep commanded higher prices than WAD goats and Red Sokoto goats for all purposes except for butchering/catering; Red Sokoto goats commanded similar or lower prices than WAD goats depending on the purpose for purchase; and Y'ankasa sheep, principally purchased for the Eid‐el‐Kabir festival, commanded marginally higher prices than WAD sheep. The market share of WAD sheep is currently small and is under competition from northern sheep and goats, so increased production of WAD sheep in the south will benefit both producers and consumers in the area. In general, the results indicate that buyers have preferences for specific breeds and species for specific purposes, so producers and sellers may benefit by targeting specific buyer categories and times of the year.

A survey of two rural markets in southwest Nigeria over 14 months showed that supplies, sales and prices of sheep and goats varied widely during the period with a sharp peak during the Muslim festival of Eid-el-Kabir and a smaller peak during the Christmas-New Year period. Local West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep and goats and northern Y'ankasa sheep and Red Sokoto goats were traded in the markets and animals were purchased for rearing, trading, ceremonies, butchering/catering, sacrifice, and festivals. There were significant differences between species/breeds purchased for various purposes. A hedonic price model was fitted to determine factors influencing price. After adjustments were made for age, weight, sex, time of transaction and market, WAD sheep commanded higher prices than WAD goats and Red Sokoto goats for all purposes except for butchering/catering; Red Sokoto goats commanded similar or lower prices than WAD goats depending on the purpose for purchase; and Y'ankasa sheep, principally purchased for the Eid-el-Kabir festival, commanded marginally higher prices than WAD sheep. The market share of WAD sheep is currently small and is under competition from northern sheep and goats, so increased production of WAD sheep in the south will benefit both producers and consumers in the area. In general, the results indicate that buyers have preferences for specific breeds and species for specific purposes, so producers and sellers may benefit by targeting specific buyer categories and times of the year.

Addition of copper in the diet has been proved to be beneficial to micro flora enhancing rumination. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the influence of copper glycine (Cu-G) on growth performance and rumen fermentation parameters of West African dwarf (WAD) sheep fed diets containing graded levels of Cu-G supplementation; incorporated into the concentrate diet at 0, 5, 10 and 15 mg/kg respectively to formulate four (4) experimental diets. A total of sixteen (16) WAD sheep were randomly allotted to 4 dietary treatments for 84 days with 4 animals per treatment in a completely randomized design having an average live weight of 13.00 ± 2.00 kg. Data were collected on growth performance and rumen fermentation parameters. Body weights were measured at the end of each week and the rumen fluid collection was carried out at the end of the experiment. Results revealed that there was no significant (p&gt;0.05) difference on the growth performance parameters across the dietary treatments. The final weight gain, metabolic weight, total feed intake and feed conversion ratio values obtained in this study ranged from 22.16-24.85 kg, 27.39-36.64 g/dw0.75, 508.22-556.96 g/d and 4.96-6.84 respectively. The rumen fermentation parameters was not significantly (p&gt;0.05) influenced by Cu-G supplementation except total fungi count (TFC), total coliform count (TCC) and protozoan count which ranged from 1.29-1.49×103cfu/ml, 2.23- 2.48×102cfu/ml and 2.25-2.72×105cfu/mlrespectively. Furthermore, the TFC, TCC and protozoan values obtained in this study increased across the dietary treatments as the Cu-G supplementation increased. Sheep fed 5, 10 and 15 mg/kg recorded the highest values for TCC, TFC and protozoan count obtained in this study. It can therefore be concluded that copper glycine included in diet at 15 mg/kg inclusion level had the highest microbial count in the rumen environment thereby positively influencing ruminal fermentation but had no influence on the growth performance of the West African dwarf sheep.

The experiment was carried out to determine the effect of urea-fortified concentrate corncob diets on growth performance and carcass characteristics of West African dwarf (WAD) goats. Fifteen WAD goats with an average weight of 9.33 kg were studied. The animals were weighted and randomly assigned to five (5) treatments in a completely randomized design (CRD). The treatments were of different levels i.e. 0%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% of urea in corncob-based concentrate diets. Results showed variation (P<0.05) in the live weight among all the treatments while no effect was observed in average daily weight gain, average daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio, carcass and non-carcass characteristics among the treatment groups. However, the physicochemical properties of the meat showed that meat water holding capacity, moisture, dry matter, crude fibre and ash were not influenced by urea but there was a significant (P<0.05) difference in meat pH and meat crude protein among the treated groups. In conclusion, for better performance in the live weight gain of WAD goats, 3% best level inclusion of urea fortified corncob diet should be taken into cognizance. Keywords: Carcass characteristics; Corncob; Urea; West African Dwarf Goats; Nigeria.

Productive and physiological characteristics of West African dwarf goats fed cassava root sieviate-cassava leaf meal based diet

Two experiments were conducted to investigate and compare the nutritive attributes of Sesbania parchycapa (SP) in a crop-livestock farming system. In Experiment 1, the feeding attributes of Sesbania parchycapa (SP) fodder was investigated with 15 West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep, by feeding Panicum maximum (PM) alone and P. maximum supplemented with S. parchycapa (SP) in the ratio of 70:30. The study lasted 28 days, during which feed intake was monitored daily. In Experiment 2, the nutritive value of SP was investigated with WAD sheep and goats by feeding them as sole diets. The study lasted 15 days consisting of 10 days adjustment and 5 days of data collection using 5 each of bucks and rams in a completely randomised design. In the first trial, DM intake (99.5g/kgBW0.75) was higher for the control PM and least (72.8g/kgBW0.75) for SP. Total DM intake followed similar trend. In the second trial, DM (185g/kgBW0.75), CP (40%) and NDF (645g/kgBW0.75) intakes were generally higher (p&lt;0.05). for sheep than for goats. DAM (562), CP (421) and NDF 680g/kg digestibility coefficients were also higher (p&lt;0.05)for sheep than for goats. The N balance and retention (g/h/d) was higher in sheep. Results indicated that intake, digestibility and N- utilisation of S. parcyhcapa by sheep is better than goats although both had a positive N-balance. It could be concluded that apart from the well known positive impact of S. Parchycapa in agro forestry and alley farming systems, it can effectively serve as protein supplement in a small holder crop-livestock farming system.

To measure the impact of supplementing a forage diet with tree-based browse on the ruminal bacterial communities of Nigerian West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep. Fifteen WAD sheep were fed a control diet of forage (Panicum maximum), with 12 animals shifted in groups of three to one of four browse-supplemented diets (Albizia saman, Bridelia micrantha, Ficus sur, or Gmelina arborea). These browse plants were shown in a concurrent but separate study to be reasonably nutritious (based on chemical composition and fibre constituents) and nontoxic (based on tannin, phytate, saponin, alkaloid and oxalate levels). Rumen liquids and solids for DNA extraction were collected via intubation from two animals in each group before and after dietary shift. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene regions V6-V8 were sequenced by 454 pyrosequencing. All communities were highly diverse and dominated by the phyla Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Tenericutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. All communities shared members of the genera Butryivibrio, Prevotella and Ruminococcus. Our analysis defined a core sets of bacteria shared by all animals, forage-fed animals and browse-fed animals. Community structure shifted dramatically in animals fed A. saman or G. arborea. The impact of tree-based browse on the ruminal bacterial community of Nigerian WAD sheep varies by browse species, likely due to differences in browse composition. Our study describes the first neotropical small ruminant bacterial microbiome and supports diet supplementation with specific tree-based browse for WAD sheep.