Potential of Albizia lebbeck -Cassava Peel Silage as Dry Season Feed for West African Dwarf Sheep

摘要

The study evaluated the growth performance, digestibility, and nitrogen utilisation of West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep fed with Albizia lebbeck - cassava peel silage and Panicum maximum. Sixteen female WAD sheep (6–7 months old and average live weights of 11 kg) were randomly allotted into four dietary treatments in a complete randomized design. Dietary treatments of A. lebbeck - cassava peel silage are: Diet1 (60% Cassava peel + 25% A. lebbeck + 15% P. maximum), Diet 2 (45% Cassava peel + 40% A. lebbeck +15% P. maximum), and Diet 3 (30% Cassava peel + 55 % A. lebbeck + 15% P. maximum), while Diet 4 (100% P. maximum) is the control. The pH values (4.27–5.39), NH3-N (0.089– 0.125%), lactic (0.72–1.08%), and butyric (7.04–10.53%) acids, contents of silages differed (p 0.05) across treatments, while total feed intake (840 g/d) and weight gain (46.07 g/d) of sheep fed diet 1 were superior (p 0.05) to other treatment groups. Although, sheep fed diet 4 had the best (p 0.05) feed conversion ratio, silage diet was efficiently utilized by the sheep fed diet 1. Nutrient digestibility varied (p 0.05) across treatment groups. The values of apparent nitrogen digestibility (69.33%), nitrogen absorbed and retained was highest (2.08 and 1.97 g/d) in sheep fed diet 1, while nitrogen absorbed and retained was lowest (1.37 and 1.12 g/d) in sheep fed diet 3. In conclusion, WAD sheep fed diet 1 performed remarkably in terms of feed intake, weight gain, and N-utilisation. Therefore, A. lebbeck-cassava peel silage can be a viable option for sheep feeding in the dry season when grass quality is low.