REPLACEMENT OF PALM KERNEL CAKE WITH KENAF GRAIN MEAL IN CASSAVA PEEL DIET ON PERFORMANCE OF WEST AFRICAN DWARF SHEEP

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing Palm kernel cake (PKC) with Kenaf grain meal (KGM) in cassava peel-based diet on performance of WestAfrican Dwarf sheep. Sixteen female West African Dwarf sheep with the average live weight of 9.71± 0.05 kg were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments in a complete randomised design with four animals per treatment. The results showed that dry matter (88.80- 88.95%) and ether extract (2.84-3.14%) contents were relatively similar.The crude protein contents were highest (16.22%) in diet 3 and lowest (14.73%) in diet 1 while the crude fibrecontent was highest in diet 1 (23.38%) and lowest in diet 2 (17.85%). The performance of the sheep differed (p<0.05) across the treatments. Total feed intake (662.82 g/day), weight gain (30.95 g/day) and feed conversion ratio (21.42) were best in sheep fed diet 4 (25% KGM inclusion) compared to other treatments. However, total feed intake(g/kgW0.75) was highest (p<0.05) in sheep fed diet 1 (25% PKC inclusion) but lowest in sheep fed diet 2 (10% PKC and 15% KGM inclusions). In conclusion, the significant (p<0.05) performance of sheep fed with diet 4 (25% KGM inclusion) revealed the possibility of total replacement of PKC with KGM in cassava peel ration without negative impact on the growth of West African Dwarf sheep.