GROWTH, CARCASS AND ORGANS CHARACTERISTICS OF WEANER RED SOKOTO BUCKS FED DIETS CONTAINING DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CROTALARIA RETUSA (RATTLE BOX)

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding Crotalaria retusa on growth, carcass and organs characteristics of Red Sokoto goats. Twelve Red Sokoto goats with average initial weights of 8.7 kg were allocated to four dietary treatments which composed of three animals per treatment for thirteen (13 ) weeks in a complete randomized design. The four experimental diets were T1 (0% Crotalaria), T2(10% Crotalaria), T3 (20% Crotalaria), and T4 (30% Crotalaria). Result showed that there was significant difference (P<0.05) in all performance indices: body weight gain, feed intake and water intake. The result also showed that the daily weight gain (4.5-30.0g/day) and carcass weight (4.10-5.13kg) was affected by dietary treatments. Similarly, the organs were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the dietary treatments, with 10% inclusion having the highest values. The results indicated that Red Sokoto goats can utilize Crotalaria retusa up to 30% inclusion in their diets without any deleterious effect on growth performance, carcass yield and organs although performance was highest in T2(10% inclusion level)