NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY AND MINERAL UTILIZATION OF WEST AFRICAN DWARF (WAD) WEANER GOATS FED MIXTURE OF Gmelina arborea LEAVES AND Panicum maximum

I. A. ADEBISI; A. B. AJIBIKE; O. OLADEPO; T. O. MURAINA; O. AMUSA; J. A. ALALADE

doi:10.51791/njap.vi.7858

Authors

I. A. ADEBISI Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, P.M.B. 10, Igboora, Oyo State, Nigeria
A. B. AJIBIKE Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, P.M.B. 10, Igboora, Oyo State, Nigeria
O. OLADEPO Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, P.M.B. 10, Igboora, Oyo State, Nigeria
T. O. MURAINA Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, P.M.B. 10, Igboora, Oyo State, Nigeria
O. AMUSA Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, P.M.B. 10, Igboora, Oyo State, Nigeria
J. A. ALALADE Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, P.M.B. 10, Igboora, Oyo State, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.vi.7858

Abstract

A total of twenty (20) West African Dwarf (WAD) goats of aged 4-6months weighing between 6.5- 9.0kg were used in a completely randomized design todetermine the nutrient digestibility and mineral utilizationby feeding varying proportions of G. arborea leaves and P. maximum as a basal diet for 56days in a feeding trial. The animals were randomly allocated to five treatments. The results showed that dry matter (DM) digestibility was similar (P>0.05) across the treatments. However, crude protein (CP) and crude fibre (CF) digestibility were higher (P<0.05) in treatments containing Gmelina. However NFE NDF and ADF digestibility were higher (P0.05) in the control diet compared to others. The highest value of calcium (0.85%) was recorded in the diet containing 50% Gmelina: Pancum combination (P<0.05). Also, values of phosphorus (1.89%) and sodium (0.05%) were higher (P<0.05) in diets containing 100% Gmelina. It was concluded that farmers should include Gmelina leaves in diets of WAD goats for improved performance and good bone formation in goats.