In vitro fermentation evaluation of selected agro-industrial by-products as alternative feed for ruminants

Résumé

In the tropic there is seasonal variation in the quality and quantity of forage which affects the sustainability of all year round ruminant production. There is need to source for cheaper and readily available feed to supply the nutrients required by the animals. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the in vitro gas fermentation and its characteristics on selected
agro-industrial -products (AIBs) as alternative feed resources for ruminant animals. Corn bran (CB), soybean cheese waste (SBCW), shea nut cake (SNC) and Rice bran (RB) were incubated for 24hrs. The cumulative gas volume at the end of incubation was measured. Methane (ml/200mgDM) production of the AIBs was measured at the termination of the incubation with the introduction of 10ml NaOH into the syringes. The in-vitro fermentation characteristic, metabolizable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) were estimated. Proximate composition of the AIBs showed that
crude protein (CP) ranged from 13.80% in RB to 30.12% in SBCW. Rice bran also had the highest ash content (17.20%) while the SNC recorded highest concentration of crude fiber. The SNC and SBCW had similar ether extract (EE) content. Gas volume statistically varied from 12.00ml/200mgDM to 27.67ml/200mgDM in rice bran and corn bran, respectively. The
CB produced highest values of the fermentation characteristics. Methane production ranged from 2.5 to 5.5mLs in rice bran and corn bran, respectively. The calculated values of ME, SCFA and OMD were highest in SBCW. Overall, higher nutritive values found in the individual AIBs evaluated suggest that they are good alternative feed resources and when combined in the right proportion would sustain and improve ruminant productivity during the dry season.