EFFECTS OF DIETARY LEVELS OF PALM KERNEL MEAL AND COBALT SUPPLEMENT IN SHEEP FED CASSAVA PEELING WASTES BASED DIET

Abstract

A 56-day feeding trial was carried out to study the influence of palm kernel cake and cobalt mineral supplement on the feeding value of cassava peeling waste-based diet in the young sheep. The objectives of this study were to examine the feeding values of palm kernel cake in a cassava waste based diet fed to the sheep, and to examine the influence of dietary cobalt intake in a cassava waste- based diet fed to the sheep. Sixteen weanling West African Dwarf sheep of average initial live weight; 12.59 + 012kg were divided into four groups. Each group was randomly assigned to one of four treatment diets in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment. The animals were fed at 3% of their body weights. They were fe adlibitum with clean drinking water and mineralized salt lick throughout the 56-day. Dietary treatments consisted of two inclusion levels (7.74 and 37.53%) of palm kernel cake; and two inclusion levels (0, and 1.0 ppm) of cobalt supplement. The diets were;A – Low dietary level of palm kernel cake and low cobalt mineral supplement, B – Low dietary level of palm kernel cake and high cobalt mineral supplement, C – High dietary level of palm kernel cake and low cobalt mineral supplement, D – High dietary level of palm kernel cake and high cobalt mineral supplement The experiment lasted for 56 days involving sixteen (16) lambs in a factorial design used to evaluate the, average dry matter, and nutrient intake, nutrients digestibility, body weight gain, nitrogen retention. Body weight gains (g/day) in the sheep were measured, 7.55, 5.09, 23.72, 26.09 at the 56th day measurement for dietary treatments A, B, C, and D respectively. The body weight gain values obtained in sheep on diet C and D were higher (P<0.05) than for those on diets A and B. At the 56th days measurements, for the crude protein intake and crude fibre intake values obtained in sheep on diet C and D were higher (P<0.05) than for those on diets A and B. At the 56th days measurements. Similar trends were obtained for nitrogen retention in sheep. It was concluded that sheep consuming high level of palm kernel cake in cassava peeling waste-based diet, benefited from dietary cobalt supplement in terms of body weight gain and nitrogen retention.