Dry season feeds and feeding: a threat to sustainable ruminant animal production in Nigeria

Review of dry season feeds and feeding as a threat to sustainable production of ruminant animal production in Nigeria. The concept of dry season nutrition and challenges posed on ruminant production such as reduction in general performance of animal, increased susceptibility to diseases, reduction in palatability and acceptability of available forage, reduction in digestibility of forage consumed, migration of flock and herd’s men, overcrowding of available graze land, sales of animals at loss and increased cost of production were critically dealt with. strategies such as Forage conservation, utilization of crop residue, agro industrial by products, cultivated fodder crops, culling and sales of unproductive animals in the flock, utilization of browse plants, uses of concentrate feed, integration of ruminant production with crop production, improved pasture yield through fertilizer/manure application and supplementation of poor forages with nutrient supplements as means of ameliorating the adverse effects of dry season feed and feedings. Conclusively dry season feeds and feeding pose a great threat to ruminant animal production and for the sustainable production of ruminant animal products (wool, milk, meat, meat, hide and skin) and by-products (blood meal, bone meal and manure) efforts should be geared towards adoption of strategy recommend in the paper.Keywords: Ruminant animal, production, sustainable, dry season, feeds and feedin

Growth indices, dry matter yield and nutritive value of Centrosema pascuorum at four different cutting regimes in humid tropics

A study was conducted on growth indices, dry matter yield (DMY) and nutritive value of Centrosema pascuorum at four different cutting regimes of growth i.e. 8, 10, 12 and 14 weeks after sowing (WAS). Experimental design was a complete randomized design with three replicates on 4m by 12m bed. Results showed significant (P<0.05) increase in the number of leaves (16.70 – 55.67), leaf length (7.63 – 11.34 cm), leaf width (1.00 – 1.68cm) and plant height (49.34 – 108.40cm) from 8 to 14 WAS. Higher significant (P<0.05) DMY was recorded in 12 WAS (7.47t/ha) and 14 WAS (7.80t/ha). There was a significant (P<0.05) difference in crude protein, crude fibre, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, non-fibre carbohydrate, ash, calcium and phosphorus. Significant (P<0.05) values were recorded for dry matter intake, dry matter digestibility and relative feed value across the cutting regimes. Significant difference (P<0.05) was also observed for the methane (CH4) gas production (18.00 – 21.33 ml) and methane reduction percentage (87.88 – 91.67%). Similar (P>0.05) contents were observed for 24 hours’ gas production, in vitro dry matter digestibility, in vitro organic matter digestibility, short chain fatty acid and metabolizable energy across the different cutting regimes. Conclusively, growth pattern and DMY of Centrosema pascuorum across the different cutting regimes 8 – 14 WAS consistently increased, coupled with nutritive parameters and post in vitro characteristics. Centrosema pascuorum could be best harvested at 12 and 14 WAS for its effective and efficient utilization for livestock production especially ruminants. Key words: Centrosema-pascuorum; Cutting-regime; Dry-matter-yield; Growth-indices; Nutritive-valu

Performance assessment and grazing pattern of semi-intensively managed Maradi goats supplemented with Palm Kernel Cake and Poultry Dropping Concentrates

Performance assessment and grazing pattern of semi intensively managed goats supplemented with Palm Kernel Cake (PKC) and Poultry Dropping Concentrates (PDM) was studied with 12 billy Maradi goats of average weight of 14.25kg ± 1.03 SEM, 3 replicates per each treatment. Four experimental treatments (T1-T4) were compounded with wheat offal (35%), cassava peel (30%), salt (2.25%) and bone meal (2.25%), T1 (30% PKC), T2 (20% + 10% PDM), T3 (15% PKC + 15% PDM) and T4 (10% PKC+20% PDM) and assigned in a Complete Randomized Design. The goats were tagged and supplemented with the  experimental treatments ad libitum twice daily before and after grazing, weather condition monitored. Results showed no  significant (P>0.05) difference in the DM of the experimental treatments, T1 had higher significantly (P<0.05) value of 17.50% CP, Maradi goats supplemented with T1 and T4 had higher and similar (P<0.05) feed intake while least significant (P<0.05) feed intake was recorded for goats supplemented with T3. Animals that were supplemented with T1 had highest significant (P<0.05) water consumption compared with animals supplemented with T2, T3 and T4 which had similar (P>0.05) water consumption. The goats fed T4 had the highest (P<0.05) weight gain, there is a significant (P<0.05) difference in the FCR of the experimental  animals. Maradi goats supplemented with T4 had the best FCR. There was no significant (P>0.05) in the grazing pattern of the Maradi goats. Conclusively, animals fed T4 (20% PDM inclusion) had the best feed intake, weight gain and FCR. It is therefore recommended that PDM is valuable feed resources for goat  production especially under the semi intensive management.Key words: Grazing pattern; Maradi goat; Poultry dropping

Concentrate diets fed sole to rabbits by smallholder farmers in Greater Port Harcourt City, might not satisfy their nutrient requirements

Nutritive value of concentrate feeds fed to rabbits by smallholder farmers in Greater Port Harcourt City (GPHC) were assessed in two of its eight Local Governments. Thirty-five rabbit farmers; 20 and 15 from Obio-Akpor and Ikwerre, respectively, were sampled, using snowballing method. Overall, five samples: three commercial poultry (D1, D2, D3), one commercial rabbit-specific (D4), and one on-farm mixed feed (D5), were collected and analyzed for proximate, fiber fractions, minerals and anti-nutritional factors contents. Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance at 0.1% level of significance and Duncan Multiple Range Test in SPSS data analysis software were used to analyze data. Results indicate percent dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, crude fiber, ash, nitrogen free extract, organic matter and metabolizable energy (kcal/kg) ranged from 91.90–90.97, 18.03–16.64, 4.05–3.55, 9.67–5.55, 7.13–5.97, 58.87–54.20, 85.94–84.24, 3014.80–2813.30, respectively. Minerals (mg/kg) ranged from 0.402–0.385 (sodium), 0.626–0.612 (calcium), 0.962–0.947 (potassium), 0.539–0.521 (phosphorus), 0.346–0.321 (magnesium), 48.15–46.75 (iron), 5.53–5.37 (copper), 61.87–60.52 (zinc), 4.86–4.48 (manganese) and 0.089–0.076 (selenium). Percent neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose ranged from 44.87–31.27, 33.05–19.66, 7.13–3.24, 13.0–7.46, 25.92–16.16, respectively. Trypsin inhibitors (mg/g) and percent tannins, phytate, oxalate, saponins and alkaloid ranged from 2.58–2.19, 0.0046–0.0030, 0.409–0.386, 0.292–0.269, 0.402–0.367 and 0.596–0.543, respectively. All feeds may supply enough proximate components to rabbits, except crude fiber. Actively reproducing rabbits fed those feeds may not cover their needs for calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, manganese, lysine, potassium, magnesium, copper, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, hemicellulose and cellulose. Only acid detergent lignin contents of D5 and D4 were sufficient for rabbit needs. D5 followed by D4 may be fed sole to rabbits, if fortified, especially, with dietary fiber from sources like forages. There is need in Nigeria, needs to produce more commercial rabbit-specific concentrate feeds, that meet rabbit nutrient requirements

Chemical constituents and in-vitro rumen fermentation for dietary inclusion of Delonix regia seed meal for sustainable ruminant production

This study was conducted to assess the chemical composition and in-vitro digestibility for dietary inclusion of Delonix regia seeds meal (DSM) for   sustainable ruminant production. Four experimental treatments were formulated and DSM was included and varied as T1 (35/0%), T2 (20/15%), T3 (15/20%) and T4 (0/35%), respectively, each treatment were replicated and analyzed for the proximate composition and in-vitro analysis. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the nutrients and fiber fractions (CP, EE, ash, OM, NFE, NDF, ADF and hemicellulose) across the experimental  treatments as CP ranged between 10.50 – 13.60% and decreased with inclusion of DSM. The NFE, NDF and hemicellulose were similar (P>0.05) in T1 and T4. In-vitro analysis indicated that the methane gas volume was significantly (P<0.05) influenced with the dietary inclusion of DSM across the experimental treatments as T2 had the highest volume of CH (0.61mL) while the least was 4 recorded for T1 (0.47 mL). There was no significant  difference (P>0.05) for 24hrs gas production, CH percentage, CH reduction percentage, in-vitro dry matter digestibility 4 4 (IDMD), in-vitro organic matter digestibility (IOMD), metabolizable energy and fermentation efficiency across the treatments. Conclusively, the nutrients profile of the experimental treatments justifies the utilization of DSM for sustainable ruminant production. Similarity in post in-vitro parameters across  treatments is an indication that inclusion of DSM will go a long way to resolve the challenges of feed and feeding for ruminant production. Keywords: Chemical constituents, Delonix-regia-seed-meal, in-vitro, production, ruminant and sustainabl

Cardiovascular determinants of renal dysfunction among children and adolescents in South West Nigeria

Background: New evidences reveal significant association of cardiovascular risk factors to development of chronic kidney disease among children and adolescents but there is paucity of data from Africa. Objectives: We examined the association of cardiovascular risk factors to renal dysfunction among Nigerian pediatric subjects. Materials and method: This was a prospective, cross-sectional study of pediatrics aged 2 to 17 years. Blood pressure, body mass index, serum lipids and creatinine were determined. Their glomerular filtration rate was calculated using the revised Schwartz equation. Data was analyzed with SPSS 20. Test of association was by Chi square at P <0.05. Results: We studied 114 children and adolescents. There were 55 (48.2%) males and 59 (51.8%) females with mean age of 8.99±4.26 years. There were 68 (53.5%) children and 53 adolescents (46.5%). Four (3.5%) subjects had proteinuria ≥1+. Renal dysfunction (eGFR <60ml/ min/1.73m2) was found among 9 (7.9%) participants. Renal dysfunction was higher among children than adolescents (13.1% v 1.9%) (p = 0.027). The presence and clustering of risk factors were higher among subjects with renal dysfunction (p value 0.466, 95% CI 0.19-28.3). Low HDL-c (44.4%), prehypertension(22.2%) and overweight (22.2%) were the most prevalent risk factors among those with renal dysfunction. Only age demonstrated relationship to renal dysfunction in terms of mean difference (p value 0.007, 95% CI, 1.125-6.818). Conclusions: The prevalence and clustering of cardiovascular risk factors is higher among children with renal dysfunction. Age showed association  to renal dysfunction. Dyslipidemia and high body mass have propensity to influence the development of pediatric CKD. Keywords: Cardiovascular risk factors, renal dysfunction, association, pediatrics, Nigeria, Africa

Wind Energy Technology in Nigeria: Prospects, Challenges and Solution

This paper discusses some of the challenges of wind energy technology, solution and prospects in Nigeria. The major sources of electric power generation in Nigeria are fossil fuel and hydropower. Nigeria is well-endowed with vast resources for conventional energy (crude oil, natural and coal), as well as reasonable amount of renewable energy resources (e.g. hydro, solar, wind and biomass). It is obvious that Nigeria is lagging behind under the wind energy category. Wind power and wind electricity adoption in Nigeria, represents the least developed source of energy. Northern parts of Nigeria experiences wind speeds in the range 6.0“ 8.0 m/s, while parts of Southern Nigeria and mountainous area of the country are in the same range. It is recommended that Nigeria can effectively exploit wind energy technology, if the identified challenges are overcome and the suggested solutions are implemented

Preliminary in vitro screening of some spices and medicinal plants from Edo and Rivers States, Nigeria for reducing enteric methane production in ruminants

Methane gas produced by ruminants during feed fermentation contributed to global warming as well as poor efficiency of food utilization.  Mitigating ruminal methane production through anti-microbial feed additive has serious health implications. A preliminary study of the potential of medicinal plants and spices from Edo and Rivers State, as possible replacement to antibiotic feed additives was carried out. Medicinal plants and  spices were purposefully sampled, dried at 40oC, milled and 10 mg was added with 190 mg of substrate in a preweighed nylon incubation bags. Bags and their contents were incubated using 30 mL of buffered rumen liquor in 100 mL syringes following the standard procedure of in vitro fermentation. Variables monitored were 24h total gas volume, short chain fatty acids (SCFA), methane (CH ) gas, dry matter degradability (DMD) as well as some chemical, cell wall and 4 anti-nutritive components. Results revealed that adding the medicinal plants and spices as feed additives did not depress gas production in most cases (19.5 – 29.50 mL, 17.75 – 30.00 mL and 12.00 – 29.00 mL for Edo medicinal plants, Edo spices and Rivers  medicinal plants respectively) and also did not depress DMD (> 50%). Azadirachta indica stem reduced CH4 production mostly by 53.56% while Dennttia tripetala did by 47.69% among the Edo medicinal plants and spices, respectively. In Rivers State, Amaranthus spinosus gave the highest value of 60.33% CH reduction. In the same bracket of similar and good CH4 reduction potentials were Alstonia boonei leaves (49.06%),  Newbouldia laevis root (41.50%), Euphorbia heterophyla (37.97%), Allium crispum (47.31%), Allium cepa (46.80%), Aframomum mueguata (46.54%), Capsicum annum (47.32%), Ageratum conyzoides (56.52%), Lagenaria breviflora (48.03%) and Centrosema molle (45.08%). All the medicinal plant and spices with potential for CH4 reduction had corresponding high SCFA 4 values (0.46 – 0.65 Mmol) with tannin (%) and saponin (%) contents of  0.011 – 17.50 and 0.01 – 2.40 respectively. Conclusively, the medicinal plants and spices demonstrated good potentials for reducing rumen methane production in vitro and may be subjected to further in vivo studies. Keywords: in vitro, spices, medicinal plants, methane production, ruminant

Assessing the nutritional status of Bunaji bulls fattened on varying inclusions of groundnut haulms and maize offal using some blood metabolites

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of inclusion levels of groundnut haulms (GH) and maize offal (MO) on some blood metabolites from twenty Bunaji bulls. The bulls were divided into four groups in a completely randomized design. They were fed signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens) hay ad libitum and concentrate diets containing groundnut haulms (GH) and maize offal (MO): 80:20% GH: MO, 60:40% GH: MO, 40:60% GH: MO and 20:80% GH: MO, respectively. The animals were fed the diets over a period of 90 days and their nutritional status ascertained from the serum metabolic profile.Keywords: Groundnut haulms, maize offal, packed cell volume, blood metabolites, bunaji bull