VOLUNTARY INTAKE AND NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY OF ENSILED Gmelina

arborea LEAVES AND CASSAVA PEEL FED TO WEST AFRICAN DWARF (WAD)

SHEEP.

1
ABSTRACT

Inadequate forage in quality and quantity during the dry season is the major constraint in

ruminant production in Nigeria, and this negatively influences the performance of these animals.

In an effort to surmount this limitation, Gmelina arborea leaves (GML) and cassava peel (CsP)

were ensiled at different proportions to evaluate the physio-chemical quality, intake and growth

response by West African dwarf (WAD) goats fed the diets. The varying proportions of GML

and CsP were mixed as follows; 100GAL, 75GAL+25CP, 50GAL+50CP, 25GAL+75CP and

100CP. The mixtures were ensiled for 21 days. Sixteen West African dwarf (WAD) goats aged

7-8 months weighing between 8.45- 8.48kg housed in individual pens were used to determine

feed intake, growth rate and feed conversion ratio for 90 days. Completely randomized design

was adopted for the study. Silages with CsP had pleasant smell and pH range of 3.7-4.7 while the

silage without CsP had non-pleasant smell with pH of 9.5. The pH and temperature reduced with

increasing level of cassava peel while the smell, texture and appearance improved with

increasing level of cassava peel.

2
CERTIFICATION

This project entitled "Voluntary intake and nutrient digestibility of ensiled Gmelina arborea

and cassava peel fed to WAD Sheep" by ODEDEYI BLESSING OLUFUNKE with the matric

number 163507 supports the laid down principles of the degree of Bachelor of Technology

(Animal Production and Health) of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso.

___________________________ ________________

Dr. (Mrs.) R.T. Binuomote. Date

Supervisor

________________________ _________________

Dr. T.A. Rafiu Date

Head of Department

3
DECLARATION

I thus declare that this project has been written by me and is a record of my own research

work. All citations and sources are clearly acknowledged by means of references.

_______________________ _________________

ODEDEYI BLESSING O. Date

4
DEDICATION

This is dedicated to Almighty God the One who is the brain behind my success and to my

loving and caring parents and pastor for their support so far.

5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My acknowledgement goes to my Father, the maker of the universe and all there is for his Love

and faithfulness, for helping me leap over this wall. Thank you Jesus, thank you Holy Spirit for

being my helper.

My utmost appreciation goes to my supervisor, Dr. (Mrs) R.T. Binuomote for her guidance,

correction and support shown during the period of the research. I also appreciate the efforts of

the H.O.D of the department of Animal Production and Health (APH); Dr. T.A Rafiu and all

other lecturers in the department.

My sincere appreciation goes to my loving family, my parents- Pastor and Deaconess Ronke

Odedeyi for their sacrifice, prayers, encouragement, financial support throughout my stay in

school, you’ve been the best parents in the world. My dear sister- Kemisola Odedeyi and

handsome brother, you are not counted out in the story line of my academics. God Almighty

shall reward you all.

My acknowledgement is incomplete without my spiritual family from the Christ Power

Evangelism Church.

Profound gratitude also goes to my friends and project mates- Adepeju, Olufemi, Precious,

Dorcas, Deborah, Daniel, Bashirat, Ifeoluwa and others for their cooperation and support who all

made my stay in school.

To everyone who is part of my success story, a heartfelt gratitude and may you reap much more.

Thank you all.

6
 CHAPTER ONE

1.1. Introduction

Ruminant animals play an important role in the economic development of Nigeria in terms

of feeding the steadily growing population and providing the investible resources for national

development (Bolaji et al., 2016). The most commonly reared ruminants in Nigeria include

cattle, sheep and goat. Sheep is one of the most important small ruminant livestock species that

produces a good source of meat and milk for human consumption. It represents about 30% of

ruminant livestock in Africa and the largest group of small ruminant livestock in Nigeria

(FAOSTAT, 2011). About 85% of rural households and small time business people keep sheep

(FDLPCS, 2007). The West African dwarf sheep is the most common and an indigenous breed in

the West and Central African countries (Chiejina & Behnke, 2011). Most sheep are reared on

free range and trek for long distance in search of feed especially during the dry season which

may have adverse effect on their performance. Feed accounts for 60–70% of total cost of

livestock production and it’s inadequacy in quality and quantity could lead to a situation of low

nutritional status, poor weight gain, poor reproductive ability, poor production, poor health

condition and poor conversion ratio (Fajemisin et al., 2015). It therefore, becomes important to

supply adequate feed in quantity and quality for optimal performance by livestock. The

attainment of sustainable livestock production largely depends on the availability, quality and

quantity of feed Ibhaze et al., (2015). Scarcity and poor quality of forage is usually experienced

during the dry season, this renders these animals undernourished for a significant part of the

year. The excess forage produced by the perennial species in the rainy season must be conserved

and should be considered a potential forage resource for feed in the dry season. Ruminant owners

raise their animals on natural grasses, which are intrinsically poor in nutritive value, low in

7
digestibility and scarce during the dry season (Babayemi et al., 2009). The animals are therefore

poorly nourished, which eventually affect their productivity.

In Nigeria, seasonal variations and lack of forage are the main factors affecting ruminant

productivity since animals lose weight quickly after gaining it during the lush season, which can

result in death and cause significant financial losses to farmers, Kimathi et al. (2021). Ruminants

gain weight during the wet season, which corresponds to the period of adequate pasture growth

and abundant feed supply. However during the dry season most of the weight gained during the

wet season is lost due to inadequate forage supply from pasture, thus a seasonal pattern of weight

gain interrupted by weight loss during the dry season is formed. The resultant effect is that

ruminants in these parts take a longer period to reach market weight or maturity than ruminants

in other parts of the world (Lamidi & Ologbose 2014). Conservation of forage as hay or silage is

the major technique used in developed countries to address the deficit in forage supply to

ruminants during periods of insufficient pasture growth. However, the prevailing climatic

conditions in southern Nigeria during the period of excess herbage production (high precipitation

and humidity) are not conducive for successful haymaking. Silage making is not so attractive to

the small farmer due to the high labour demand and machinery required to harvest, chop and

store sufficient quantities of herbage to carry ruminant stock through the dry season. This,

coupled with the low nutritive value of conserved tropical forage does not justify the cost of its

production.

West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep, a native breed of sheep reared in the humid zone of

Nigeria are fed with grasses and agricultural by-products which affect the growth rate,

physiological responses and performance of the WAD sheep Aye, (2014). The end result is the

persistence shortage in the supply of animal protein in people’s diet which is inimical to growth,

8
performance, intelligence and defence against avoidable diseases. WAD sheep are adjudged to

be vigorous, fertile, resistance to climatic stress and are tolerant of irregular supply of feeds.

WAD sheep are mainly kept as a minor farm enterprise by most small holder farmers in South-

Western Nigeria. They play important socio-economic and cultural roles in the lives of these

farmers due to their use as means of storing wealth in times of agricultural plenty; provision of

cash reserves for emergencies; and the guarantee of a degree of food security in times of crop

failure. WAD sheep are highly adaptable to a broad range of environments, can live on crop by-

products without grain supplementation ( Haimanot et al., 2021) are trypanotolerant (Geerts et al.

2009), have rapid growth (Zhuoyi et al.,2021 and are rich in genetic variation (Ameer et al.,

2022). Also, sheep is the most productive ruminant in Nigeria that can increase the animal

protein intake. They are versatile creatures that can produce skin, milk, meat, and manure. Their

reputation for short gestation interval, early maturity, easy management, remarkable capacity to

convert roughages into meat and milk, unique ability to adapt and maintain itself in harsh

environments, low cost of production, ability to trek long distances in search of feed, high

dressing percentage, ability to adapt to a wide range of climatic conditions, high meat quality and

their small body sizes make them indispensable livestock in Nigeria and beyond. The meat is

routinely tolerated and consumed in Nigeria since there is no religious taboo against it and there

is a demand for the meat (Jiwuba et al., 2021)

1.2. Justification

Feed availability has been a major factor limiting the expansion of ruminant production in

Nigeria. Forages are usually the primary and most economic source of nutrients for ruminants

9
where they serve to meet their daily nutritional requirements. As forage mature, palatability and

digestibility declines. They become dry and less digestible during dry season resulting in reduced

feed intake and weight loss of animals. The dry season is this a critical period for ruminant

animals as it is characterized by shortage of feed, that is, reduction in quality and quantity of

forages. Utilization of by-products as silage during this critical period of feed shortage will go a

long way in reducing feed shortage.

Silage making has a great potential to solve seasonal shortage of feed for ruminants in

Nigeria by preserving excess forage produced during the wet season for use at the dry period. A

judicious use of locally available feed resources like crop residents and agro-industrial by

products can improve the nutrition of these animals and boost livestock productivity in these

parts.

1.3. General Objective

This study was connected to evaluate the voluntary intake and nutrient digestibility of ensiled

Gmelina arborea and cassava peel fed to West African Dwarf (WAD) Sheep.

1.4. Specific Objectives

o To determine the digestibility of the various nutrients of ensiled Gmelina arborea and

cassava peel.

o To evaluate the silage characteristics of ensiled Gmelina arborea with varying level of

cassava peel.

o To observe the nitrogen balance of West African Dwarf (WAD) Sheep fed ensiled

Gmelina arborea with varying level of cassava peel.

10
 CHAPTER TWO

2.0. LITERATURE REVIEW.

2.1. Gmelina arborea

Gmelina arborea Roxb (Verbenaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant in the Ayurveda, an

ancient Indian system of medicine. The roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and bark are used for

treating different ailments in traditional medicine. The literature suggests use of the plant in

treatment of scorpion sting, snake-bites, and diabetes. The plant is anthelmintic and used for

treating hallucinations, excess thirst, piles, abdominal pains, burning sensations, and fever.

Gmelina arborea is a cheap non-conventional feed resource for ruminants in Nigeria. It is a fast

growing deciduous Multi-Purpose plant of high nutritive value reaching up to 40m tall and

140cm in diameter and grows in climates with mean annual 0 rainfall temperatures of 21-28 oC

Vijendra and Achlesh, (2022). The leaves are very high in protein and it a suitable source of

energy. The leaves are available all year round ensuring availability of feed to animals during the

dry season. The best climatic condition for the cultivation of Gmelina arborea is fertile soils,

various rainfall. The tree has long maturation period so it is best plantation for forest upgrading.

Gmelina arborea planted in the presence of chlorophyll is outer bark of this plant. Gmelina

arborea is yellow to cream in colour and calorific value approximately 4800 Kcal per kg. The

wood density of plant at age 8 years is 410 kg/m2.

11
2.2. Cassava peel

Cassava peel is a waste product produced from the peeling of fresh cassava roots before

processing into various products in Nigeria. It consist about 5-15% of the whole root when

peeled mechanically; Aro et al. (2010) and 20-35% with hand peeling; Olanbiwoninu and

Odunfa, (2012). The meal contains about 3.5% crude protein but is high in carbohydrates, crude

fibre, minerals and hydrogen cyanide (HCN); Olorunnisomo, Ewuola and Lawal, (2012).

Various processing methods of cassava peel including soaking in water and retting, sun-drying,

parboiling, ensiling and enzyme supplementation. However, the innovative processing of cassava

peels by grating, pressing, sieving and drying developed by International Livestock Research

Institute (ILRI, 2015) to produce high quality cassava peel (HQCP) fine mash has reduced the

drying period thereby improving the quality and quantity of the product. The HQCP method also

reduced the HCN content in cassava peel and affects the nutrients; increased fiber content; Okike

et al. (2015). Toxicity of HCN to ruminants is not common because of its microbial

detoxification in the rumen. This is because when cyanogenic glucoside is exposed to linamarase

enzyme extraruminally during cassava processing, HCN is released and can be detoxified in the

rumen but when unprocessed cassava peels are fed to ruminants, microbial fermentation may

rather enhance HCN formation in the rumen thereby increasing the level of toxicity Llewellyn,

(2014).

2.3. West African Dwarf (WAD) Sheep.

They WAD sheep is predominant breed of the Humid tropics from Southern West African

through Central Africa. This breed is a small bodied, compact breed which may be all white,

12
black or brown. Its variation in colour and patchy distribution makes it difficult to distinguish it

clearly from the Yankassa adult males. Its weight approximately 37Kg, but ewes have mature

weights of 25Kg and bred at 7-8 months.

Sheep is an example of small ruminant in Nigeria that are increasingly becoming source of

animal protein. Sheep provide almost 30% of the meat consumed and around 16% of the milk

produced. In Nigeria, sheep play a significant socioeconomic role in the life of the people: they

are slaughtered during ceremonies and festivals, and generation income to farmers.

Sheep requires energy for growth which could be gotten from pasture (forages, range and

browse), hays, silage, by-product and grain. Some of the grasses in forage specie are;

Andropogon gayanus (Gamba grass), Brachiaria brizantha (Signal grass), Chloris gayana

(Rhodes grass), Cynodon dactylon (Bahama grass), Digitaria decumbens (Pangola grass),

Melinis minutiflora (Molassess grass), Panicum maximum (Guinea grass) and lots more. The

following are the browse plants which can be fed to sheep; Gliricidia sepium (Gliricidia

maculata), Leucaena leucocephala (Leucaena glauca). These forages can be further processed

into hay (by drying) or silage; both methods could be regarded as conversation of forage crops.

Aside energy, sheep also require protein which can be gotten from legume-forage. Cajanus cajan

(pigeon pea), Calopogonium mucunoids (Calopo), Centrosema pubescens (Centro), Lablab

purpureus (Lablab or hyachnth bean); all these are some of the legumes which can be fed to

sheep. Other nutritional requirements are; minerals, salt, vitamins and water.

13
2.4. Digestion in Sheep.

Ruminants generally have a competing stomach which contains the rumen, reticulum,

omasum and abomasums Kendall, (2019). The rumen allows the animal to consume plants

material and retain it long enough to allow bacteria, protozoa and fungi to break down and digest

the material. The plant material is consumed, regurgitated and re-chew and swallowed. Nutrients

are required from body maintenance, physically activity, growth, milk production, reproduction

and health. Steele et al., (2015).

2.5. Methods of determining forage quality

It is necessary to feed ruminants with forage of good quality so as not to affect the ruminant

and as well to achieve farmer’s aim of keeping the animals. Since the quality of forage directly

impacts the production success, there are many ways to test forage. The first term to be

understood is dry matter (DM). When forage is harvested by machine, the amount above the

leftover stubble can be dried, since 70-90% of the herbage is water, and weighed to determine

the amount of dry matter, usually referred to per acre. Testing can be done on representative

samples. But if the forage is consumed by grazing animals there are still other ways to test for

quality. Forage quality can be determined by many ways but the three main methods are

discussed below:

o Organoleptic Observation

o Chemical Composition

o Feed Trial Evaluations

14
 Organoleptic observation means using the sense organs (eyes, nose, taste, ears, touch) to

evaluate the quality of the forage. This method is practical because it can be easily done, requires

no special equipment, and is readily applied. It is the simplest method but it provides the least

information. Organoleptic observation can be useful in some ways but cannot determine

chemical composition. Visually, high-quality forage should show leafiness, vivid color, little

foreign material, an appropriate stage of maturity, and no molds. The smell should be fresh and

in the case of silage sweet; a specific odor that you can learn to recognize. Livestock use their

sense of smell in selection. Some producers can even taste the right flavors, especially in good

silage. Touch can also be used to check for the right consistency. Good hay should not be too

brittle. Good silage will not be slimy.

A laboratory evaluation of the chemical composition of forage allows the livestock

manager to more accurately determine how much forage and supplement are needed for a

particular animal and production goal. It can answer how nutritious forage is and allows for

better rationing. But the results are only valid to the extent that the sample represents the forage

being considered.

Historically from about the mid-1800's, forage quality has been measured in the

laboratory by proximate analysis which looks at the crude fiber (CF), ether extract, nitrogen-free

extract, crude protein (CP), and ash. The ash is the residue after burning or combustion and

indicates the mineral content. The CP is determined by analyzing for nitrogen (N) by a method

invested by Kjeldahl F.A.O,(2016). True protein is made up of amino acids with approximately

16% nitrogen so 100% divided by 16% = 6.25 which is used to multiply the nitrogen in a sample

to estimate the amount of protein within. Ether extract is the total compounds that can be

extracted with hot diethyl ether. Crude fiber is the organic matter insoluble in weak acid and

15
weak alkali. Nitrogen-free extract is the amount left when subtracting all the four components

from 100 or the total sample.

Another way of determining forage quality is with feed trials and animal performance. Are

animals gaining weight, producing more milk, successfully reproducing, and living longer? All

of these take time to determine but can be measurements of successful feeding systems. The

laboratory methods can be costly and require proper sampling but are faster and more specific.

Sometimes ruminants are fistulated to determine exactly what is being consumed or excreted.

Fistulated ruminants have an opening into their stomach. Comparing what is within the ruminant

and later what is excreted can lead to better understanding of nutrition. But this type of

evaluation is unpleasant and not as easily extrapolated to small ruminants like sheep and goats.

16
 CHAPTER THREE

3.0. MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1. Experimental Site

The research was carried out at Sheep and Goat unit, Ladoke Akintola University of

Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching and Research farm, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. While the ensiling

process was done at silage room beside poultry house, near Faculty of Agricultural Science,

LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria.

3.2. Collection of Test Ingredients

Gmelina arborea was obtained from the University vicinity. The collected leaves were

pruned for easy collection of the leaves. The harvested leaves were weighed so as to determine

the expected amount of leaves for making silage; and left for wilting which lasted for about 12

hours. Fresh cassava peel was gotten from Garri Processing Unit at the Campus premises.

3.3. Ensiling Process.

The leaves and peels were milled to reduce the particle size for easy compacting into the

silo. The milled leaves and cassava peels were manually compacted into the silos lined with

polythene nylon. Each layer of the ingredients; Gmelina arborea leaves and cassava peel were

manually compacted in the silo (with heavy stones and sand bags) to displace air. Then, the

polythene sheet was then used to cover the material and pressed down with the sand bags and

stones. The silage was then left to ferment for minimum of 21days, before opening for feeding to

animals.

17
3.4. Pen preparation, experimental animals and their management.

The pen was cleaned, washed with detergent and fumigated with morigad against

infections. The surrounding was cleared and the fence was adjusted where necessary. Fifteen

(15) active West African Dwarf yearling Sheep were purchased from local markets and kept in a

prepared, sanitized pen. Their initial weights were taken and recorded as they were brought into

the farm. They were acclimatized for 2-3 weeks. The acclimatization of the animals was to

familiarize the animals with the forages and the environment. During this period, the animals

were fed with Gmelina arborea leaves, dried cassava peel and concentrate. The animals were

reared under intensive system of management using the design of Completely Randomized

Design (CRD). Three animals were placed on a treatment (silage): thus, fifteen animals for five

treatments.

3.5. Digestibility Study.

Fifteen (15) active West African Dwarf Sheep were used for a digestibility study. Three

rams were assigned to a treatment. The animals were transferred into the metabolic cages that

allowed for separate collection of faeces and urine. They were in the cage for 14days during

which daily feed left over and fecal production were evaluated. Three animals received a given

diet twice daily. The animals were allowed to acclimatize for the first 7days in the cages, after

which data on feed offered, left over, fecal output and urine were collected and weighed daily.

Sub-samples of the diets were taken and oven dried at 60 oC for 24 hours to determine dry matter

content. About 10% of the urine collected daily was preserved with 20ml of tetraoxosulphate

(VI) acid (H2SO4) and ice block for each animal. The essence of the acid is to prevent nitrogen

loss until needed for analyses of nitrogen content.

18
3.6. Statistical Analysis

Data generated were subjected to one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS

(2001) and significant differences were separated using Duncan’s multiple range test of the same

package.

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0. RESULT AND CONCLUSION

19
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