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Feed shortage which rises from seasonal feed deficits, erratic supply of feed ingredients with competition between humans and livestock for available feed resources, possesses a major constraint to goat production in Nigeria. This has led to low level of livestock productivity. In this regards, there is need to search for alternative but cheaper feedstuffs. Shea nut cake (SNC), an agro industrial waste product could be used as one of the economic strategy to ameliorate feed shortage. The current study was focused on the effect of dietary inclusion of Shea nut cake on nutrients digestibility of West African Dwarf goals using six (6) growing males WAD goats. Diets consist of 0%, 10% and 15% shea nut cake inclusion levels in combination with wheat offal, corn bran, cassava peel, cowpea husk, and the dietary treatments were designated as T1, T2, and 73 respectively. The experimental animals were allotted to three treatments in a completely randomized design with two animals per treatment. The animals were transferred into a wooden metabolic cage fitted with facilities to collect faeces which lasted for 14 days. Crude protein, ether extract, ash and neutral detergent fibre concentrations of the experimental diets were 9.18-11.37%, 2.03-2.79, 9.63-12.11% and 30.69-48.51% respectively. The result obtained for average daily weight gain was higher (p<0.05) for T2 (64.29g) compared to T1 (35.72g) and T3 (35.72g) which were similar. The feed conversion ratio showed no significant (p<0.05) effect among T1 (14.32) and T3 (14.07) while T2 (8.00) is significantly higher. Significant differences (p<0.05) were observed among treatment groups for nutrients digestibility. The goats placed under T2 (10%) recorded the highest digestibility coefficient for all the nutrients. However the crude protein, ether extract, ash and neutral detergent fibre digestibilities were between 45.76-74.26%, 57.19-67.73%, 56.09-76.66% and 55.28-78.28% respectively. It was however observed that T2 (10%) SNC inclusion had the highest digestibility coefficient in all the nutrients by West African dwarf goats.

Feed shortage and high cost of conventional feed ingredients in the tropics and the keen competition between man and other farm animals necessitated the need to search for alternative feed resources that are cheap, available at all times but not toxic for ruminants to enhance their productivity. Hence, this study examined the fermentation characteristics and performance of West African dwarf (WAD) sheep fed graded levels of soybean cheese waste (SBCW). Three diets were formulated at 0%, 10% and 20% levels of SBCW respectively as D1, D2 and D3. Eighteen WAD sheep averaging 14 kg were randomly allocated to the dietary treatments for 102 days. The crude protein (CP) content of the diets varied significantly (p < 0.05) with CP of D1 being lowest (12.18 %) and highest in D3 (17.75 %). The gas volume produced at the end of 24 hrs incubation for D3 was lower than in D1 and D2. The methane volume produced was least in D3 and highest in D1. The calculated organic matter digestibility (OMD), metabolizable energy (ME) and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) values were similar except for D3 which had higher OMD than D1 and D2. Daily dry matter intake (DDMI) of WAD sheep fed D3 was highest compared to other diets. A similar trend was observed in average daily weight gain (ADWG). D3 had the least cost per kg of diet among the others. From the results obtained, it was observed that diet D3 appeared to be the best and economically viable for sheep production.       La pénurie d'aliments et le coût élevé des ingrédients alimentaires conventionnels dans les tropiques et la vive concurrence entre l'homme et les autres animaux d'élevage ont nécessité la recherche de ressources alimentaires alternatives bon marché, disponibles à tout moment mais non toxiques pour les ruminants afin d'améliorer leur productivité. Par conséquent, cette étude a examiné les caractéristiques de fermentation et les performances des West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep nourris avec des niveaux gradués de déchets de fromage de soja (DFS). Trois régimes ont été formulés à des niveaux de 0 %, 10 % et 20 % de DFS respectivement en tant que D1, D2 et D3. Dix-huit moutons WAD pesant en moyenne 14 kg ont été répartis au hasard entre les traitements diététiques pendant 102 jours. La teneur en protéines brutes (PB) des régimes variait significativement (p < 0,05), la PB de D1 étant laplus faible (12,18 %) et la plus élevée de D3 (17,75 %). Le volume de gaz produit au bout de 24 heures d'incubation pour J3 était inférieur à celui de D1 et D2. Le volume de méthane produit était le plus faible en D3 et le plus élevé en D1. Les valeurs calculées de digestibilité de la matière organique (DMO), d'énergie métabolisable (EM) et d'acides gras à chaîne  courte (AGCC) étaient similaires, sauf pour D3 qui avait une DMO plus élevée que D1 et D2. L'apport quotidien en matière sèche (AQMS) des moutons WAD nourris au D3 était le plus élevé par rapport aux autres régimes. Une tendance similaire a été observée dans le gain de poids quotidien moyen (GPQM). D3 avait le moindre coût par kg de régime parmi les autres. D'après les résultats obtenus, il a été observé que le régime D3 apparaissait comme le meilleur et économiquement viable pour la production ovine.