An experiment was conducted on 524 guinea keets to test the effect of four dietary protein levels on general performance. The four levels evaluated were 0.22, 0.23, 0.24 and 0.25g dietary protein/g feed. Data were collected on feed intake, weight gains and mortality. Partial cost-benefit analysis was also done. The results showed significant feed intake differences between treatments (P<0.05). Keets on 0.22 protein feed recorded the highest feed consumption followed by 0.23, 0.25 and lastly 0.24. Mean daily weight gain was highest among keets on the 0.24 protein feed and lowest among keets on the 0.22 protein feed; however, these differences were not statistically significant. The 0.25 DP feed also appeared to perform better than 0.23 DP feed in terms of daily weight gain. Mean cost of feed per kilogram live weight gained seemed to be lowest for the 0.24 protein diet followed by keets on 0.25, 0.23 and then 0.22 protein feed. Mortality was highest in keets on 0.22 protein diet and least in keets on 0.24 protein diet. The 0.24 protein diet may therefore be the most economical diet to feed to growing indigenous keets between 0 and 8 weeks.

This study was conducted in the savannah agroecological zone of Ghana to assess the different sheep management systems and identify potential stressors that compromise sheep productivity under these systems. A questionnaire and on-farm observations were used to obtain data from 176 farms on management system types, resources, husbandry practices and productivity. Four management systems were identified in the study area, namely extensive (41.5%), semi-intensive (38.1%), intensive (6.3%) and tethering (14.2%). Feeding systems used were free grazing/scavenging (24.43%), herded grazing (17.05%), zero-grazing/intensive feeding (6.25%), grazing plus supplementation (38.07%) and restricted grazing in the rainy season (14.2%). Most (87%) farmers under the extensive system did not house their sheep at all, but 88.1% of farmers using the semi-intensive system housed their sheep year round. Floor spacing per sheep was 1.06, 2.31, 2.17 and 1.47 sheep/m2 for the intensive, semi-intensive, extensive, and tethering, respectively. Preweaning mortality was significantly higher (40%) than post-weaning to yearling (34.9%) and adult mortality rates (14.3%) (ꭓ2 = 292, P <0.001). The extensive system has the highest (32.8%) mortality rate and the intensive system the least (14.9%) (ꭓ2 = 151, P <0.001). Reproductive indices (lambing percentage, age at first lambing, lambing intervals, and abortion rates) were all significantly influenced by the management system, with sheep managed under the semi-intensive and intensive systems performing better than sheep managed under the extensive system and tethering. Extensive management and tethering of sheep may expose Djallonké sheep to disease stress, chronic undernutrition, heat stress and walking stress compared to sheep under more intensive systems.

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The West African Dwarf (WAD) goats have hereditary dwarfism and are adapted to the humid climate. The study compared the cold tolerance of WAD and Savannah (Red Sokoto and Sahel) goats during the peak of the West African cold season in the Northern Guinea Savannah of Nigeria. A total of 18 adult non-pregnant, dry does comprising equal number of each breed (six per breed) were used for the study. Thermoregulatory variables were recorded four times in the morning (07:00 h) and afternoon (13:00 h) hours at two-day intervals. Results revealed that irrespective of the hour of day, the WAD had significantly (p < 0.05) higher respiratory rate when compared with Red Sokoto and Sahel goats. The diurnal afternoon rise in respiratory rate and the magnitude of afternoon rise in rectal temperature was higher (p < 0.0001) in WAD than Sahel and Red Sokoto goats. The body surface temperature in the morning hours was significantly lower in WAD compared with Sahel breed, while in the afternoon hours, the inter-digital space temperature was significantly lower in WAD compared with Savannah breeds. However, there were no significant (p > 0.05) differences in heart rate, rectal, head and leg temperatures between the breeds in both morning and afternoon hours. Discriminant analysis revealed that the morning hours induced greater homogeneity in the thermoregulatory responses between the breeds adapted to the humid and Savannah climates as compared with the afternoon hours. It was concluded that although WAD goats employed more intense peripheral vasoconstriction to survive cold exposure and demonstrated greater diurnal amplitude in thermoregulatory variables, they maintained comparable core body temperature as the indigenous Savannah breeds. Thus, suggesting that despite the hereditary dwarfism, the WAD goats could conserve body heat during the West African cold season in the Northern Guinea Savannah zone of Nigeria.

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