Oestrus was artificially synchronized in thirty-six (36) primiparous Red Sokoto goats (RSG) done using 45 mg fluorogestone acetate vagina sponges for fourteen (14) days. Pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) hormone was administered immediately after sponge removal and the does were mated thereafter. Twenty four (24) gravid weighing 15.8 kg -23.7 kg were selected and fed graded levels of baobab (Adansonia digitata. L) pulp-seed meal supplement in a completely randomized experimental design of six (6) replicates per treatment. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the results obtained. At parturition, animals on 20% baobab fruit inclusion Original Research Article

This study was conducted to determine performance, carcass traits and meat quality evaluation of sheep fed napier grass and different proportion of cocoa pod husk and soursop pulp meals. Eighteen (18) West African Dwarf rams, aged between 7 and 8 months old with mean weight of 7.00 ± 0.55kg were allotted to three dietary treatments with two replicates of three sheep per treatment in a completely randomized design. The compared treatment diets were; T A (70% napier grass and 30% concentrate diet), T B (45% cocoa pod husk with 25% soursop pulp and 30% concentrate diet) and T C (50% cocoa pod husk with 20% soursop pulp and 30% concentrate diet). The experimental diets were given to the sheep at 6% of their body weight and the experiment lasted for 84days after 14days of adjustment period. The results showed that average daily feed intake (221.79g), nitrogen intake (18.02g/day), total nitrogen loss (5.08g/day) and chilling losses (12.85%) were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in diet T A compared with diets T B and T C . Treatment diet T C was significantly (P < 0.05) better ISSN 2166-0379 2017 http://jas.macrothink.org 75 in total body weight gain (3.66kg), average daily weight gain (43.57g), total digestible nutrient (74.69%), nitrogen retention (77.58%, slaughter weight (11.02kg), hot carcass weight (5.68kg), cold carcass yields (5.23kg), hot with cold carcass yields (51.54 and 47.46%), appearance (6.81), tenderness (6.20) and overall acceptability (6.85) than other treatment diets. Initial body weight, flavor and juiciness were not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by the treatment diets. It was concluded that 50% cocoa pod husk with 20% soursop pulp and 30% concentrate diet has the potential to enhance performance, carcass traits and meat quality evaluation in sheep. Journal of Agricultural Studies

The blood profile and histology of selected tissues (kidney, lungs, intestine, and epididymis) of Balami Sheep fed Shea Cake meal supplement was investigated. A total of thirty-two (32) sheep of the average weight range of 11.75-14.75kg comprising an equal number (16) of males and females were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments in a completely randomized experimental design with eight sheep per treatment for twelve weeks duration. Treatment 1 (T1) was a control diet and had zero inclusion level of Shea cake meal (SCM), while treatments 2,3, and 4 had 10%,15%, and 20%  inclusion of SCM, respectively. At the twelfth week of the experiment, two blood samples of 5ml each were taken from each animal from the jugular vein. The first set was preserved in Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid (EDTA) bottle for haematological parameters, while the second samples were preserved without EDTA for serum examination. Representative samples of tissues were randomly selected and slaughtered for gross microscopic examination. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) at various levels of inclusion for parameters investigated. The white blood cell (WBC), Red blood cell (RBC), and Packed cell volume (PCV) recorded the highest values at T3 (15% inclusion level) (13.42 x109/L), 2.92x1012/L, 3.75%, respectively). The serum parameters were significantly(p <0.05)different among the treatments. Total protein ranges from 54.78(mg/dl) (T1) - 60.51(mg/dl) (T2), Cholesterol70.15(mg/dl) (T1) - 78.00(mg/dl) (T4). Iron ranges from 58.15(ug/dl) (T1) - 62.88(ug/dl) (T3).The histopathology of tissues (kidney, lungs, intestine, and epididymis) showed no alteration across the treatments (P= .05) in the gross microscopic examinations. No lesion was observed in the lungs, kidney, epididymis, and intestine. The results showed that shea cake meal posed no health risk to Balami sheep and as such recommended as a good supplement in the diets of the sheep.

Growth response, carcass characteristics and meat quality of West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep fed Shea Cake Meal (SCM) supplement was investigated. A total of 24 WAD sheep of average body weight ranges from 11-12.65 kg comprising of twelve (12) males and twelve (12) females were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments with six animals per treatment in a completely randomized design in a twelve (12) weeks experimental period. Treatment 1 was control and had no inclusion of SCM. Treatments 2, 3 and 4 had 10%, 15% and 20% inclusion of SCM. Results were significantly different (P<0.05) across treatments. Average weight gain ranged from 10.0 kg (SCM-10) to 13.12 kg (SCM-15). T3 recorded highest values for average feed intake (AFI) at a record value of 63.50 kg. T2 had the least feed conversion ratio of 4.81. The carcass quality and sensory evaluation were significantly affected (P<0.05) across the treatments. Hot carcass weight (HCW) ranged from 18.90 kg (SCM-10) to 20.85 kg (SCM-15). Cold carcass weight was recorded 18.05 kg (SCM-10) and 19.95 kg (SCM-20), respectively. Minimum chilling loss of 3.96% was recorded at SCM-15 inclusion level. Animals on SCM-15 inclusion recorded the highest value of 7.55, 7.25 and 7.25 respectively for appearance, tenderness and overall acceptability. SCM-20 had highest value of 7.50 for juiciness compared to SCM-10 and SCM-15 with recorded values of 6.80 and 7.20, respectively. The study showed that all the dietary inclusion was satisfactory as feed for small ruminants without any deleterious effect on their performance as well as on carcass yield and meat quality. Inclusion level of SCM-15 supplement had highest overall performance when fed to (WAD) sheep.