Chemical composition of selected browse plants and their acceptability by West African Dwarf sheep

摘要

EightWADsheepwithaverageinitialweightof14.8kgwereusedinacompletelyrandomizeddesignexperimenttodeterminetheacceptabilityofMoringaoleiferaandsevenselectedbrowseplants.Proximatecompositionoftheselectedbrowseplantsvariedwidely.CrudeproteincontentwashighestforL.leucocephala(31.2%)followedbyM.oleifera(29.7%)andwasleastinSpondiamombinandAspiliaafricana(17.1%).TannincontentwaslowestforA.africana(0.84%)closelyfollowedbyM.oleifera(1.02%)whichalsohadtheleastphytatecontent(2.6%).M.oleiferawasrankedfirstinrelativepreferencebyWADsheepfollowedbyA.africana,G.sepiumandL.leucocephalainthatorder.C.siameawasleastpreferredbytheanimals.DMandphytatecontentshadsignificantnegativecorrelationswithpreference.nbsp;