Effects of diets containing processed cassava peel meal on performance and feed economies of growing red Sokoto bucks

Abstract

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of differently processed cassava peel meal on the performance and economies of growing red  sokoto bucks. Four experimental diets were formulated; diet T₁ (control) contained 20 % sun-dried cassava peel meal while diets T₂ , T₃ and T₄ contained 20 % soaked, 20 % boiled and 20 % fermented cassava peel meal, respectively. Each diet was fed to a group of 3 bucks for 70 days in  a completely randomized design. Among the differently processed cassava peel meals included in the diets of growing red sokoto bucks, inclusion of fermented cassava peel meal significantly (p<0.05) increased the final weight (19.63 kg), weight gain (6.63 kg) and total feed intake (19.93 kg) of
the bucks; no significant effect was observed on other performance indices. There was also a significant (p<0.05) reduction in the feed cost per kilogram weight gain of bucks fed diet containing fermented cassava peel meal. It was therefore concluded that inclusion of fermented cassava peel meal in the diets of growing red sokoto bucks resulted in better performance of the bucks and reduced the cost of feed per kilogram weight gain.

Keywords: Performance, Red Sokoto bucks, Cassava peel meal, Processing methods, Cost economies