Performance and nutrient intake of growing Yankasa rams fed graded levels of baobab (Adansonia digitate) seed meal as a replacement value for cowpea husks

Abstract

The research was conducted to evaluate the performance and nutrient intake of growing Yankasa rams fed graded levels of baobab (Adansonia digitata) Seed Meal to replace cowpea husks. Four experimental diets were formulated with baobab seed meal to replace cowpea husks at 0, 10, 20 and 30% designated as T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively. Sixteen growing Yankasa rams with an average weight of 16.93 kg were randomly allocated into four treatments of four animals each in a completely randomized design (CRD). The study lasted for 63days. Data were taken on feed intake and body weight changes. The results showed that animals on T4 had the highest weight gain (107.14g/day) and T1 the lowest (67.46g/day) and the values were significantly (P<0.05) different. Animals on T4 utilized their diets more efficiently (7.58) than others. It can be concluded from the results of the experiment that the inclusion of baobab seed meal to replace cowpea husks in the diets of growing Yankasa rams up to 30% level improved growth performance of the animals.