Abstract
Grasscutter serves as a major tool for improved household income generation, nutrition and bio-diversity in Nigeria. It provides a quick turnover, foreign exchange earner and reduce unemployment rate of the country.In order to assess the feeding values of concentrates used as supplement, studies were conducted in captivity to evaluate the performance of Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) using 20 growing Grasscutters comprising 16 females and 4 males who were balanced for weight and grouped into four treatments. Inclusion of whole cassava meal that was incorporated at 80% of the total bulk acted as the control(T0) while 10% of whole cassava root meal was replaced by fermented soybean meal in (T1), fermented locust bean meal in (T2) and fermented melon seed meal in (T3) respectively were considered as experimental using a complete randomized design. Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) was used as the basal diet and water were given ad libitum. There were significant difference in the final body weight gains (P<0.05) between treatments. The mean final body weights were 1175.0 ±302.01, 1266.7±302.01, 1215±302.01 and 1143.0±302.01g for animals on T0, T1, T2 and T3 respectively. The corresponding mean for final body weight gains were found to be 481±209.55, 536.7±209.55, 507±209.55 and 407±209.55g for T0, T1, T2 and T3 respectively. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the trunk length in T1 over T2, T0 and T3 and were recorded at the level of4.78±0.19, 4.56 ±0.18, 4.55 ± 0.18 and 4.12 ± 0.16 respectively. The nutrient digestibility of CP, EE, NFE, ADF and ADL were significantly different (P<0.05). The whole cassava root that was combined with fermented soybean meal supported a highest growth rate than those of other treatments. It was therefore concluded that fermented soybean meal may be used as an ideal diet for sustainable Grasscutter production when whole cassava root is combined with this ingredient.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 16(2): 254-259, August 2018
Highlights
The Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) production serves as a major tool for improved household income generation, nutrition and bio-diversit
The result of the study revealed that the neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and the acid detergent fibre content of the experimental diets followed the same trend (Table 2)
The present results have shown that Grasscutter may not grow well when fed acid detergent fibre beyond 17%.The crude protein levels of the four diets were higher than the minimum of 17% suggested by Pound et al(1995), for herbivores in captivity
Summary
The Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) production serves as a major tool for improved household income generation, nutrition and bio-diversit. It provides a quick turnover; serves as a foreign exchange earner; helps reduce unemployment rate of the country; it provides employment avenues for the physically challenged and people suffering from HIV/AIDS. It helps to meet the demand for the supply of bush meat without undue pressure on the environment in many rural areas of Nigeria and other West African countries like Benin, Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast. Grasscutter meat is greatly appreciated for its tenderness and taste and is an important source of animal protein in Ghana and the rest of West Africa. The meat is appreciated because of its culinary properties with high protein, calcium, phosphorous and moisture contents (Rahman et al, 2015; Rahman et al, 2016)
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