The Effects of Sawdust/poultry Litter and Brachiaria ruziziensis Silages on the Performance of West Africa Dwarf Goats

Research Article

**The Effects of Sawdust/poultry Litter and Brachiaria ruziziensis Silages on the Performance of West Africa Dwarf Goats**

C.O. Nwaigwe, C.A. Nwankpa and C.U. Nwaigwe

This study was carried out in order to determine the effect of three test rations comprising Brachiaria ruziziensis grass silage and sawdust/poultry litter silage which replaced some conventional feed ingredients (wheat offal, soya bean cake and maize offal) at varying levels in the diets of goats. Twelve young West African dwarf does with mean ages and weights of 6±0.17 months and 4.2±0.44 kg, respectively, randomly divided into three groups of four replicates were used for the study which lasted for forty-five days. The animals were fed three test rations with sawdust/poultry litter silage replacing 50% (Diet 1), 25% (Diet 2) and 0% (Diet 3 or Control. In addition, all groups received Brachiaria ruziziensis grass silage at 5% inclusion level. Parameters measured include Production attributes, Haematology and serum biochemistry. Results showed that the haematological and serum biochemical parameters showed no significant differences (p>0.05) among groups. However, significant differences (p>0.05) existed in the production attributes with respect to mean final gain, mean daily gain, mean daily intake, mean total feed intake and apparent protein digestibility, feed conversion efficiency, but not in their rumen motility. Cost of production was significantly (p<0.05) lowest in diet 1 compared to diets 2 and 3, respectively. It was observed that sawdust/poultry litter silage was most beneficial at 25% inclusion level as animals fed this diet had significantly higher weight gain and better feed conversion efficiency compared to those of 50% and Control groups.

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C.O. Nwaigwe, C.A. Nwankpa and C.U. Nwaigwe, 2011. The Effects of Sawdust/poultry Litter and Brachiaria ruziziensis Silages on the Performance of West Africa Dwarf Goats. Asian Journal of Biotechnology, 3: 581-587.

DOI: 10.3923/ajbkr.2011.581.587

URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=ajbkr.2011.581.587

Asian Journal of Biotechnology

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C.O. Nwaigwe

C.A. Nwankpa

C.U. Nwaigwe

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Research Article

**The Effects of Sawdust/poultry Litter and Brachiaria ruziziensis Silages on the Performance of West Africa Dwarf Goats**

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