The Use Of "Kaun" (Local Potash) As A Mineral Source In The Diet Of West African Dwarf Sheep

Abstract

The study was conducted for 48 days to assess the use of kaun as a source of mineral for West African Dwarf sheep. The study was in two parts. Experiment I involved the use of milled kaun mixed with formulated concentrate consisting of wheat offal (50%), palm kernel cake (25%) and dried brewer's grains (25%). Experiment II was the use of dissolved kaun administered to the animals in form of drenching. Each group of animals in experiment I was allocated to experimentaldiet containing milled kaun (0.00, 0.14, 0.28, 0.45 and 0.56g/kg body weight/ram/day) and to kaun solution (0,2,4,6 and 8g/10ml of water/ram/day) in experiment II. In experiment I, significant (P<0.05) effects of the diets were observed on average daily gain, dry matter intake and water consumption. The rams on D3 significantly (P<0.05) performed better in daily gain, dry matter intake and feed efficiency than those on other dietary treatments. Water consumption increased with increasing level of kaun in the diets. Animals on D5 had the highest water consumption. No significant (P>0.05) effects of the diets were observed on faecal and urinary mineral outputs of the rams fed kaun supplemented diet. The concentration of these minerals was higher at the end of the experiment than at the beginning thereby giving positive balance. Significant (P<0.05) negative mineral balance was noticed between serum mineral before and after the experiment. This couldsuggest that mineral utilization was encouraged by kaun inclusion in the concentrate feed. ln Experiment II. there were significant (P<0.05) effects of the test diets on average daily gain, dry matter intake and water consumption. Diet 4 (6g/10ml of water/ram/day) and D5 (8g/10m/ of water/ram/day) performed better with an average daily gain of 100g/d and 92.9g/d; dry matter intake, 70g W0.75kg and 66g/W0.75kg; feed efficiency 0.700 and 0.710, respectively. Water consumption also increased with increase in the concentration of kanu solution but water consumption in treatment groups was lower than in the control (0. 10L/kg body weight). The results of this study suggest that 0.28g kaun/kg body weight/ram/d) promoted better performance inexperiment I while 6g kaun/10ml of water, or 8g kaun 10ml of water/ram/d promoted better performance in experiment II. These levels of kaun as a source of mineral in sheep production are therefore recommended for optimum performance.Keywords: Kaun, serum mineral, daily gain, West African dwarf shee