RESPONSE OF WEST AFRICAN DWARF BUCKS TO CAJANUS CAJAN HAY BASED DIETS

Abstract

This study aimed at producing pasture-based feeding system using Cajanus cajan hay based complete mixed ration. Cajanus cajan pasture was established on a nitrogen depleted soil. A portion of the pastureland (5m x5m) was fertilized with poultry manure (PM), at 3t/ha 2 weeks before planting, other portion (5m x 5m) was fertilized with urea (UF) at 30 kg/ha 2 weeks after planting (WAP), while the Control plot (5m x 5m) had no fertilizer (NF) application. Differently fertilized C. cajan forage were harvested at 12 WAP and were dried using solar cabinet to produce hay. Complete mixed rations
were formulated with hay at 50% inclusion level with other conventional feedstuffs at fixed quantity (rice husk (20%), wheat offal (18%), GNC (10%), salt (1%), premix (1%)) and produced either as pelletised (P) or unpelletised (UP) to make 6 diets. Diet 1 was the no fertilizer (NF) C. cajan haybased pellet, while diets 2(UFP) and 3 (PMP) were urea and PM C. cajan hay-based diets. NFUP,UFUP and PMUP were the unpelletised form of the no fertilizer, urea fertilizer and poultry manured hay based diets respectively laid out in 2x3 factorial arrangement and were fed to West African Dwarf goats (bucks) 9-12 months with an average weight of 6.01±0.9kg in a trial that lasted 84 days. . Results showed that goats fed PMP had the best average daily weight gain (56.31g/day), total weight gain (4.73kg) and least feed conversion ratio of 6.30. Consequently, inclusion of poultry manure C. cajan hay at 50% level and in pellet form greatly improved the performance of the growing bucks and thus, recommended as an off-season feed for ruminant production.