Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Yankasa Rams fed Varying Levels of Panicum maximum-Concentrate Mix under Intensive Feedlot in South Western Nigeria.

Sammendrag

The consumption of animal protein in Africa is far less than the recommended level for adequate human growth and development emphasizingthe need to beef up livestock production especially in the sub-humid ecological zone through intensive management systemsthat prioritize the use of bigger animal breeds. This study evaluated the growth performance and carcass characteristics of Yankasa rams fed guinea grass (Panicum maximum) fodder supplemented with concentrate mix under intensive feedlot. Twenty yearling Yankasa rams (21.33±0.50 kg mean body weight) were assigned into five treatmentsat four animals each in a completely randomized design (CRD). The experimental diets consisted of Panicum fodder as the basal diet at 3% body weight of the rams and concentrate mix(maize, brewers’ dried grains, moringa leaf meal, urea, rice husk, vitamin-mineral premix and common salt at 25.00, 40.50, 16.00, 2.70, 14.50, 1.00 and 0.30% respectively). The concentrate mix was used to replace the basal diet at 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% body weight of the rams and denoted as T1,T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively and the feed offered adjusted weekly based on animal body weight recorded in the previous week. The mean feed intake did notdiffer significantly (p<0.05) among the treatments while diet supplementation significantly increased average daily weight gain and metabolic weight gain but decreased the feed conversion ratio with the highest value recorded in T1 (24.07±1.12) and the least in T5 (8.35±0.80). The carcass yield increased with the level of supplementation while the integrity of the relative organ characteristics was maintained. The supplementation of Panicum basal diet with concentrate mix improved Yankasa ram productivity and the best result was obtained at 2% body weight.