INFLUENCE OF PELLETED BROWSE-BASED SUPPLEMENTS FED WITH A BASAL DIET OF Adropogon gayanus HAY ON INTAKE, DIGESTIBILITY, GROWTH AND HAEMATO-BIOCHEMICAL INDICES IN WEST AFRICAN DWARF GOAT

Abstract

This study evaluated the nutritional value of pelleted supplements based on four major feed resources fed to small ruminants by smallholder farmers in the Accra Plains. Leaves of Samanea saman, Acacia auriculiformis and Ficus exasperata, and cassava peels were dried, milled, mixed with other ingredients and pelleted to form Samanea saman (SS-S), Acacia auriculiformis (AA-S), Ficus exasperata (FE-S) and cassava peel (CP-S) based supplements. The supplements were fed to twenty West African Dwarf goats on a basal diet of Andropogon gayanus (Gamba grass) hay in a completely randomised design experiment. Voluntary intake of dry matter did not differ (P>0.05) by the type of supplement. However, crude protein intake was higher (P<0.05) in goats fed FE-S than those fed CP-S. Acid detergent fibre intake was higher (P<0.05) for SS-S, AA-S and FE-S than CP-S. Digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre were lowest (P<0.05) for goats on CP-S. Average daily weight gain and Feed conversion ratio were not affected (P>0.05) by dietary treatments. Also, dietary treatment did not affect (P>0.05) the concentrations haematological and blood biochemical constituents determined except urea which was higher (P<0.05) in goats fed SS-S than the other treatments. In conclusion, the above results suggest that browse-based and cassava peel-based supplements could be fed to confined goats on roughage diets especially in the dry season without any deleterious effects on intake, growth and physiology of goats.