Understanding standard for guinea pig production in Nigeria: A review

Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) is a promising micro-livestock which though is indigenous to South America, is also well adapted to Nigerian ecosystem. The meat is nutritious, with a protein content of 21%, which is higher than that of poultry, pork, mutton or beef. About 65% of its meat is edible with a low fat content and low cholesterol, making it the ideal meat in an increasingly health-conscious population. The animal has a short gestation period of (58-72 days), low cost of production, matures early, easy to manage and requires relatively little capital to set up. Nigerians are among the least consumers of animal protein in Africa, consuming less than World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended 67 g per day. The commonly conventional livestock species reared cannot meet the protein deficiency because their multiplication rate is not commensurate with the rapid increase in human population. In Nigeria, if the challenges of availability of quality concentrate feeds, problem of numerous pests and diseases, problem of excessive heat and problem of obtaining fast growing species of pups can be overcome, then guinea pigs farming has the potential of bridging the present protein deficiency gap in Nigeri

Effects of feeding different sorghum varieties on the haematological parameters and carcass measurements of growing rabbits

An eight-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effect of different sorghum varieties on the blood parameters and carcass measurements of cross-bred (Dutch x New Zealand) growing rabbits aged between five and seven weeks. Twenty five rabbits were randomly allocated to five dietary treatments; T1 (100% maize), T2 (50% maize and 50% “Chakalare” sorghum), T3 (100% Chakalare” sorghum), T4 (50% maize and 50% “Jigare” sorghum) and T5 (100% “Jigare” sorghum). The “Chakalare” and “Jigare” are low-tannin and high- tannin sorghum varieties respectively. The haematological parameters were Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Haemoglobin (Hb), Red Blood Cell (RBC), White Blood Cell (WBC), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), Monocytes (%) basophils (%), Neutrophils (%), Eosinophils (%) and Lymphocytes (%). The carcass parameters were Slaughter weight (g), Dressed weight (g), Dressing percentage %, (As % of slaughter weight) of Shoulder/forelegs, Rack, Loin, Thighs/Hind legs, Skin/pelt, Tail, Head, Feet, Heart Liver, Lungs, Kidneys, Kidneys Caecum, Stomach, Large intestine, Small intestine, Caecum length (cm), Stomach length (cm), Small intestine length (cm) and Body length (cm). The response showed that most of the haematological parameters were significantly affected (P<0.05) by the different varieties of sorghum in the diets except packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and basophils which were not significantly affected (P>0.05) by the different varieties of sorghum in the diets. However, most of the haematological values fell within the normal ranges PCV (37.33 to 40.67 %), Hb (13.37- 156.73 %), RBC (5.57-6.93%) and WBC (12.67-14.83) of growing rabbits. The carcass measurements and organs expressed as percentage of slaughter weight were not significantly (P>0.05) different among the treatment groups except slaughter weight, dressing percentage, rack, loin, liver, caecum weight and stomach length which were significantly (P<0.05) different. The study indicated that the two varieties of sorghum (“Chakalare” and “Jigare”) can be included in the diets of growing rabbits as replacement for maize without adverse effect on haematology and carcass parameters of growing rabbits.Keywords: Growing rabbits, Sorghum varieties, Haematological parameters and carcass measurements, Nigeri

Genetic variability of Nigerian sheep breeds at the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF- 1) gene locus

The genetic variability of some Nigerian breeds of sheep at the IGF 1 locus was investigated. Blood samples from 150 sheep (50 each of Yankasa, Balami and Uda sheep) were collected from the Maiduguri abbatoir and analysed at the Biotechnology centre of the University of Maiduguri. A relatively high level of genetic variability was detected in Nigerian sheep; the mean observed heterozygosity (Ho) and expected heterozygosity (He) values were 0.433 and 0.476, respectively. Comparison of expected heterozygosity of alleles between the populations showed that yankasa was the most heterozygous of the sheep populations though the unbiased expected heterozygosity (0.503) for the Yankasa was the same as that of the Balami. All populations were 100% polymorphic at the IGF 1 locus with fixation index ranging from -0.169 to 0.378 and a mean of 0.093, which suggests a general pattern of random mating. Similarly, low mean values for Fis (0.093), F (0.089), Fis (0.089), Fit (0.130) and Fst (0.045) supports the assertion that inbreeding was limited due to outcrossing with relatively high level of gene-flow (Nm = 5.292). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that only 1% of the total variations observed in the sampled populations is accounted for by the population differences while individual differences accounted for 85%. The UPGMA phylogenetic tree revealed that the Uda and Yankasa populations are closer to each than each is to Balami. Thus, it can be concluded that sufficient genetic variation exist in the studied Nigerian sheep breeds and these populations are unlikely to decline due to inbreeding

Testicular Morphometric Measurements and Their Relationship with Heart Girth in Red Mbororo Bulls

Records of heart girth (HGT) and testicular morphometric measurements (testicular weight, tunica albuginea weight, caput weight, corpus weight, cauda weight, epididymal weight and ductus deferens weight) (TMM) were obtained in dry and wet seasons from twenty (20) matured Red M “Bororo” bulls to determine the relationship between HGT and TMM and, to check the effect of season on the TMM. The results showed that correlation between HGT and Testicular weight was highly significant (

Performance of broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with feed grade enzyme

The effect of dietary supplementation of a commercial multi-enzyme complex (Avizyme 1500TM) on the performance and nutrient digestibility by broiler finishers was investigated. A total of 120 d-old broiler chickens was assigned to four treatments each having two replicates of 15 birds in a 2 x 2 factorial block design. Avizyme was incorporated into the finisher diets at inclusion levels of 0 (high and low fibre diets), 1.0 and 2.0g/Kg diets in diets 1-4 respectively. The study covered the finisher phase (4-8 week period). Results obtained indicated that incorporation of Avizyme up to 2.0g/Kg diet into broiler finisher diet produced no significant (P > 0.05) effects on average daily feed intake and feed conversion efficiency of the birds but depressed daily weight gain (P 0.05) among treatments. Birds on the control diet used nutrients better than the rest treatments. The haematological parameters such as Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Haemoglobin (Hb), White Blood Cell (WBC), Mean CorpuscularHaemoglobin (MCH), and Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) except for Red Blood Corpuscles (RBC) did not differ (P > 0.05) among treatments. Dressing percentage, cut-up parts and weight of organs expressed as a percentage of body weight did not differ significantly (P > .0.05). The results of this study showed that the inclusion of 1g/kg of the enzyme mixture into broiler finisher diet did not show any adverse effect on the performance and blood parameters of the broiler chickens. The 1g/kg level of inclusion of enzyme in the dietappears to be most beneficial to the farmer in view of its relatively better results.Key words: multi-enzyme mixture supplementation, broiler, performance, growth, blood profile, and carcass characteristic

Haematological and serum biochemical indices of broiler chickens fed raw sickle pod (Senna obtusifolia) seed meal

Abstract. A feeding trial was conducted for sixty three (63) days (9 weeks) to evaluate the effects of feeding raw Senna obtusifolia seed meal (RSOSM) on haematological indices and serum biochemical parameters of broiler chickens. Six experimental diets were compounded for both the starter (23% crude protein - CP) and finisher (20% CP) phases of growth. The diets were formulated to contain 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% level of raw Senna obtusifolia seed meal replacing roasted soya bean weight for weight in T , T , T , T , T and T respectively. The 0% replacement level (T1) served as the control diet. The broiler 1 2 3 4 5 6, 2 chickens were managed on deep litter pens of 30 birds/2.22 m , weighed and randomly allotted to the six (6) dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Each treatment group consisted of thirty (30) broiler chicks replicated three times with ten (10) broiler chicks per replicate. Blood samples were collected from the wing vein at the end of the experiment using standard procedure and were analysed for haematological and biochemical profile. The outcome of this study revealed that the haematological indices were not significantly (P>0.05) affected by the dietary treatments. However, the blood chemistry was significantly (P<0.05) affected by the experimental diets. The total protein, albumin, globulin, and some electrolytes components were observed to be significantly (P<0.05) depressed as the level of RSOSM increased in the experimental diets. For instance, total protein was observed to reduce from 6.24g/dl in T1 to 3.6g/dl in T6. Electrolyte constituents such as calcium were similarly observed to reduce from 6.01 mmol/l in T1 to 1.15 mmol/l in T6. The serum enzymes and bilirubin were elevated as the level of RSOSM increases in the experimental diets. Aspartate amino transferase (AST) for instance increased from 8.27U/l in T1 to 23.18 U/l in T6. It can be concluded that incorporation of RSOSM beyond 5% in the diets of broiler chickens has adverse effects on blood parameters especially the biochemical parameters

Evaluation of chemical composition of raw and processed tropical sickle pod (Senna obtusifolia) seed meal

Abstract. A laboratory analysis was conducted to evaluate the chemical composition of raw and differently processed Senna obtusifolia seed meal. Senna obtusifolia seeds were processed using boiling, soaking, sprouting and fermentation methods respectively. The processed and raw seed meals were milled and the representative seed meal samples were analysed using standard laboratory methods. The results of the chemical analysis revealed that Senna obtusifolia seed meal possessed good nutritional properties (23.40 – 25.90% crude protein and 2.14 – 2.86 MJ/kg metabolizable energy) and has good amino acid profile as an alternative feed source for livestock. However, the raw seed meal contains 378.5, 247.2, 102.0, 248.6 and 190.0 mg/100.0g of tannins, phytates, oxalate, alkaloids and saponins, respectively. The different processing methods were observed to be effective in reducing the level of the antinutrients with fermentation recording the highest reduction levels of 68.25, 66.32, 43.70, 58.07 and 44.30% for tannins, phytates, oxalate, alkaloids and saponins followed by boiling with reduction levels of 66.27, 46.97, 46.97, 47.89, 58.66 and 45.78% for tannins, phytates, oxalate, alkaloids and saponins, respectively. In conclusion, Senna obtusifolia seed can be effectively process for utilization as feed ingredient using fermentation. Feeding trial should be conducted using Senna obtusifolia seed meal to evaluate the feeding value in livestock especially monogastric animal