Effect of Weaning Age on Growth and Slaughter Characteristics of Grasscutters (Thryonomisswinderianus) Raised Under Intensive Management in the Humid Tropics

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of age at weaning on growth and slaughter characteristics of grasscutters (Thryonomis swinderianus). This study was carried out using thirty (30) mixed sex six weeks old juvenile grasscutters, collected ten each from grasscutter populations weaned at different ages of 2, 4 and 6 weeks. The completely randomized design was adopted for the study, with each treatment group (weaning age) being comprised of five replicates of two animals each. Results at the end of the experimental period of fourteen weeks showed that average weekly and daily feed intake were significantly (p > 0.01) influenced by weaning age of the animals. More so, among the carcass traits under evaluation only the tail and neck weights differed (p > 0.05) between the treatment groups. In addition, the small intestine and caecum weights were significantly (p > 0.05) affected by age at weaning of grasscutters.