Proximate and Elemental Compositions of Animal Dung Collected from Owerri, Southeast Nigeria

Abstract

This study evaluatedthe proximate and elemental compositions of poultry, cattle and pig dung produced at the in the Teaching and Research farm of the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Southeast Nigeria as a first step towards processing the dung into value-added products. Results obtained showed species influence on the proximate compositions of the dung. Carbohydrate (19.29±0.11), ether extract (8.3±0.15), and moisture values (12.02±0.04) were higher in the pig dung compared to the others, while crude protein (13.79±0.18), total ash (35.58±0.05) and crude fiber (35.30±0.02) were higher in poultry dung.Poultry dung also recorded the highest pH, organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminum exchangeable base, and effective cation exchange capacity, which were significantly higher than the cattle values (p<0.05), while pig dung recorded highest values of nitrogen and exchangeable acidity. Poultry dung again contained significantly higher (p<0.05) copper, lead and arsenic levels than pig dung, and significantly higher (p<0.05) nickel and zing levels than cattle dung. All the dung were however exceptionally high in their zinc levels. Poultry and pig dung were superior to cattle dung in all the parameters measured and may therefore, be more suited as fertilizers for crop farming. The results of this study could aid in decisions on further processing the dung for value-added products production.