Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility and Haematological Parameters of West African Dwarf Goats Fed Water Hyacinth Ensiled with Breadfruit

Abstract

Ruminant animal production in the dry season is usually problematic as weight losses are experienced arising from scarcity of forages. Conservation of Water Hyacinth (WH) (Eicchornia crassipes) ensiled with Breadfruit (BF) can help to bridge this gap. This study investigated the feeding value of WH ensiled with different levels of BF (at 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% of the total silage diet mixture) as feed for West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Chopped WH (2-3 cm) and BF were mixed together while sawdust was included at a constant level of 10% in all treatments and designated as diets 1-5, respectively. The mixture was ensiled for 28 days. A total of 25 growing WAD goats of both sexes (5-7 months old) weighing between 4.25-5.50 kg were randomly allotted 5 experimental diets. Data on proximate composition, growth, nutrient utilization and haematology were collected and subjected to a one way analysis of variance using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedures of SAS while differences between means were separated using the Duncan's multiple range test of the same package. The proximate composition showed significant (p<0.05) improvement in all parameters as Breadfruit increased in silage diets except for crude protein and ash. Increasing levels of BF in silage diets had a significant (p<0.05) effect on intake. Average daily gain (g/day) for goats were similar in diets 3 (36.36), 4 (39.24) and 5 (37.93) and higher (p<0.05) than those for animals on diet 1 (29.48). The feed conversion ratio for goats on diets 1 and 2 (9.65 and 9.53, respectively) were poorer than those (7.86, 7.55 and 7.81) obtained for goats fed diets 3-5, respectively. Nitrogen intake, faecal nitrogen and nitrogen loss (g/day) were higher (p<0.05) in goats fed diet 1 than in other diets. Haematological parameters improved as BF increased in silage diets. Glucose values (54.76-86.31 mg/dL) increased (p<0.05) across diets while total protein, albumin, urea and creatinine were unaffected by silage diets. Results demonstrated that water hyacinth diets ensiled with Breadfruit have potentials as feed for ruminants with optimum results in silage diets with Breadfruit inclusion levels of 30%.

Nutritive Value and Preference of Guinea-Grass Ensiled with or without Additive by West African Dwarf (WAD) Goats

“…The higher values observed for fecal nitrogen excretion in T2 silage runs contrary to the findings of Idowu et al (2013), who fed graded levels of Toasted Enterolobium cyclocarpum seeds as a supplement to guinea grass. However, results in this study agree with those reported by Akinwande et al (2019), Abegunde & Akinropo (2018), and Mako et al (2012). Nitrogen balance was positive for all diets and therefore suggested that nitrogen absorbed was well tolerated and utilized by goats.…”

“…Values observed for nitrogen utilization, nitrogen balance, and nitrogen retention are all related to the amounts of nitrogen ingested and digested (Akinwande et al, 2019). All diets used in this study had positive nitrogen balances, which indicated adequacy in the protein requirement for maintenance (Abegunde & Akinropo, 2018). The values reported for nitrogen intake in this study are lower than those reported by Akinwande et al (2019) for WAD ewes fed ensiled Alternanthera brasiliana (19.05-22.85 g/d) but were higher than those reported by Mako et al (2012) for WAD goats fed guinea grass and varying levels of Acroceras zizanioides (AZ) (3.85 -6.95 g/d).…”