Growth performance and nutrient digestibility of West African Dwarf Sheep fed high roughage diet containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A twelve-week study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary inclusion of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on growth performance and nutrient digestibility of West African dwarf (WAD) sheep. A total of 12 lambs (6 rams and 6 ewes) were randomly allotted to three treatment diets as follows: treatment I was a high roughage diet with no inclusion of S. cerevisiae; treatment II was a high roughage diet with 0.75 g of S. cerevisiae per kg of diet; treatment III was a high roughage diet with 1.5 g of S. cerevisiae per kg of diet. The chemical composition of the high roughage diet is as follows: dry matter (89.20%), organic matter (85.87%), crude protein (13.21%), crude fibre (16.40%), ether extract (3.30%), ash (4.33%), nitrogen free extract (51.96%), neutral detergent fibre (45.25%) and acid detergent fibre (26.62%). Each group was made up of four replicates with one sheep serving as a replicate. There were significant (p < 0.05) differences among treatments in average daily feed intake (ADFI), and average daily weight gain (ADWG) while final body weight (FBW) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were not significantly (p > 0.05) affected. There were significant (p < 0.05) differences among treatments in dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), crude fibre (CF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) digestibility coefficients values. Based on these results addition of 1.5 g of S. cerevisiae per kg of diet is recommended.Keywords: yeast, ruminant, protein, faeces, fibr

Relationships between body weight and some linear morphometric traits in Nigerian Nsukka ecotype local hens

Body weight (BW) and linear body measurements of 120 Nigerian Nsukka ecotype local hens in terms of body length (BL), chest girth (CG), thigh circumference (TC), thigh length (TL), and shank length (SL) were taken and subjected to Pearson correlation analysis to obtain the relationship between these growth traits. Multiple Linear Stepwise Regression procedure was used to find the best linear combination of the linear body measurements that can best predict BW. The findings showed that linear body measurement traits of Nigerian heavy ecotype local hens were strongly (p < 0.01) and positively correlated (0.5 < r) except thigh length which recorded a moderate value (0.3 < r > 0.5). The regression equations of linear body measurement traits with BW were positive with coefficient of determination ranging from 60.5-74.6%. The stepwise analyses showed shank length as best single measurement with R2 = 0.605, while inclusion of our five predictors in an equation resulted in R2 = 0.746. Thus, the following equation was generated: BW = – 1485.70 + 82.06 SL + 58.34 BL + 38.70 TC + 8.39 CG + 3.85 TL. This showed that they accounted for 74.6% of the variations in the BW of Nigerian heavy ecotype local hens. The prediction equations generated from linear body measurement traits are positive and strong, therefore can accurately be employed to predict the relative BW of Nigerian heavy ecotype local hens during selection programs as well as in the market with the use of measuring tape

Oral administration of Vernonia amygdalina leaf extract: implications on performance of broiler finishers raised in derived Savannah

A four-week study was conducted to investigate the effect of Vernonia amygdalina leaf extract (VALE) on growth, haematology and biochemical indices of broiler finisher birds. A total of 180 four-week old Arbor acre strain commercial broilers were randomly selected and assigned to four experimental treatments namely; T1-0 ml VALE (control), T2-20 ml VALE per liter of water, T3-40 ml VALE per liter of water, T4-60 ml VALE per liter of water. Daily feed and water intake were recorded. Weekly body weight was taken and used to calculate feed: gain ratio. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected from twelve broilers per treatment for haematological and serum biochemical studies. Results showed that broilers on T3 (40 ml VALE) and T4 (60 ml VALE) had significantly (P < 0.05) reduced daily feed and water intake but had a better average daily weight gain and feed: gain ratio (P < 0.05). The haematological indices of the birds showed significant (P < 0.05) differences in haemoglobin, pack cell volume, and white blood cell counts in favour of birds in T3 and T4. The biochemical indices showed no differences (P > 0.05) in aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, total protein and globulin levels. Moreover, cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein levels of birds on T3 and T4 were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced compared to those on T1 (0 ml VALE) and T2 (20 ml VALE), while albumin and high-density lipoprotein levels were significantly(P < 0.05) increased. The study showed that oral administration of 40 and 60ml VALE improved performance of birds and had no deleterious effects on haematological and serum biochemical indices of birds. Therefore, it can be used as nutrient supplement in poultry production. Key words: broiler finishers, Vernonia amygdalina, growth, haematology, biochemical indice

Comparative study on the semen quality characteristics of parthenotes and parent toms reared in Nsukka

The study was conducted to evaluate the semen quality characteristics of turkey parthenotes and parent toms. A total of twenty-four turkeys were  used for the study. These comprised of twelve parthenotes toms and twelve parent toms. Parthenotes are male turkeys produced through parthenogenesis. The toms were subjected to abdominal massage techniques for semen collection. Semen collection was done twice per week and  analyzed for volume, motility, sperm concentration, like sperm, abnormal sperm, normal sperm, dead sperm, total sperm/ejaculates and total  motile sperm cells. The results showed that there were significant differences (p<0.05) in semen volume, sperm concentration, normal sperm cell, abnormal sperm and total motile sperm with mean values being 0.35mL, 1.74x109/mL, 97.80%, 2.20%, 1.68x1012 and 0.41ml, 1.50x109/mL, 94.00%, 6.00% and 1.42x1012, respectively for both parthenotes and parent toms. However, semen parameters such as motility, live sperm cell, dead sperm cell and total sperm/ejaculate showed no significant difference (p>0.05) with values of 96.7%, 97.7%, 2.30% and 6.07x109 for parthenotes toms and  93.20%, 98.50%, 1.50% and 6.23x109 for parent toms. It was observed from the results that turkey parthenotes possess good quality semen characteristic and therefore, recommended for use in poultry industry for turkey production. Keywords: Turkeys, semen quality, parthenotes and parent tom