Response of Red Sokoto Bucks Fed Graded Levels of Mistletoe Leaf Meal
Abstract
The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of graded levels of mistletoe leaf meal (kauchi) in diets on the growth performance, haematological and biochemical parameters of growing Red Sokoto Bucks. Four experimental diets were formulated with mistletoe leaf meal at 0, 7.50, 15.00 and 22.50% level of inclusion, and designated as diets 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Twenty growing Red Sokoto Bucks with an average weight of 12.00 kg were randomly allocated into 4 treatments of 5 Bucks each in a completely randomized design. The study lasted for 70 days. The results showed that the dry matter intake (DMI), crude protein intake (CPI) average daily gain were significantly (p<0.05) different across the treatments. The DMI and CPI values ranged from 552.59 to 701.33 and 86.07 to 112.77 g/day respectively. Average daily weight gain of animals on diet 4 was the highest (83.85g) and diet 3 the lowest (46.42g). Feed conversion ratio was not significantly different across the diets. It can be concluded from the results of this experiment that mistletoe leaf meal can be included at up to 22.50% in the diets of Red Sokoto Bucks without any adverse effects on the productive performance of the animals. Diet containing 22.50% mistletoe leaf meal gave the best results in terms of daily weight gain (83.85g/day). Therefore, this diet is recommended for growing Red Sokoto Bucks.
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References
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