NUTRIENT INTAKE, DIGESTIBILITY AND GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF YANKASA RAMS FED GRADED LEVELS OF SOYBEAN HUSK IN NORTH WESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study was aimed to determine the effect of feeding diets containing graded levels of soybean husk on the nutrient intake, digestibility and growth performance of Yankasa rams. Twelve (12) Yankasa rams with an average weight of 20.75kg were selected from the Livestock Unit of the Department of Animal Science, Bayero University, Kano and were randomly assigned to three (3) dietary treatment groups with four animals per group in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The treatment diets were; 0%, 15% and 30% soybean husk inclusion level. The result of the daily weight gain was not significantly (P>0.05) affected by the level of inclusion of the test materials.  The average daily feed intake did not differ significantly (P>0.05) among the treatments, with values ranging from 770.75 to 821.00 g/day. However, the results of the nutrient digestibility revealed significant (P<0.05) differences in dry matter digestibility (DMD), crude fibre digestibility (CFD), nitrogen free extract digestibility (NFED) and neutral detergent fibre digestibility (NDFD) between treatment groups. It is concluded that Soybean husk can be fed for up to 30% inclusion level to Yankasa Rams without any harmful effect on growth. It is therefore recommended that further feeding trial be conducted with other breed of sheep during feed scarcity.