The performance of West African Dwarf goats on soybean milk residue, cowpea seed waste and corn starch residue

S M Odeyinka, O J Oyedele and P A Olubunmi

Dept. of Animal Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
smodeyinka@yahoo.co.uk

Abstract

In a 12-week trial, twenty-four West Africa Dwarf weaner goats (WADG) comprising 12 males and 12 females aged 5 to 6 months weighing 5.6 to 8.4 kg were equally allotted to four experimental diets in a completely randomized design to evaluate and determine the effects of feeding soyabean milk residue, cowpea seed waste, corn starch residue and groundnut-cake-corn bran (as control diet) on the performance of the goats.

The mean total daily dry matter intake (72.4g/day/Wkg^0.75) on the control groundnut cake-corn (GNC-C) diet was significantly lower than mean values of 76.5, 77.4 and 80.3 g/day/Wkg^0.75, obtained by feeding soyabean milk residue (SMRD), corn starch residue (CSRD) and cowpea seed waste (CSWD) based diets respectively. Differences between weight gains of animals on the four diets were not significant. Feed conversion ratio was 8.55, 9.08, 9.89 and 10.2 for animals fed GNC-C, SMRD, CSWD and CSRD, respectively. The apparent digestibility coefficient of dry matter  ranged from 53.4 to 64.7%, while the apparent nutrient digestibilities were 14.9 to 60.4% for crude fibre, ether extract (78.2 to 91.0%), NFE (44.9 to  56.0%), TDN (65.5 to 84.6%) and crude protein  (80.0 to 82.7%).

Key words:  Conversion, Corn starch residue, Cowpea seed waste,growth,  Soyabean milk residue, and West Africa Dwarf goats.

Introduction

Feeding goats well is of fundamental importance for the success of the whole goat enterprise. Good nutrition is a prerequisite for good health, good reproduction, high milk yield, fast growth rates and a successful goat system, (Peacock 1996). However, provision of good nutrition is limited by food procurement problems (Chidibelu and Njondjou 1997).

Coleman et al (1999) stated that the ultimate criteria for assessing the quality of forages are their potential to support animal maintenance and production. However, the forages when available are often unable in quality to meet the nutrient needs of the animals (Onifade and Agishi 1990). Although the goat is considered superior to other ruminant species in its utilization of poor quality, and high fibre forages for its body maintenance and production, (Howe et al 1988; Dominique et al 1991), an enhancement of this potential through improved utilization of supplements and household wastes could enhance the productivity of these animals.

In Nigeria, utilization of crop residues, agro-industrial by-products and non-conventional feed resources are still at infancy process because of great competition between human and livestock for the resources, and these have greatly reduced the animal protein intake. In the classification of feed resources (Devendra 1991); soybean milk residue, cowpea seed waste and corn starch residue can be regarded as non-conventional feed resources (NCFR). These residues or wastes have considerable potential as feed materials and their value can be increased if they were economically justifiable. However, soybean milk residue has not been used in the feeding of livestock. Soybean milk residue is a by-product in the production of valuable soymilk. Cowpea seed waste is a by-product in the local production of bean cake. Most households sell bean cakes to earn their living or alleviate poverty. This residue, when available is being disposed of or scattered on the ground. Its potential for feeding goats has not received wide attention. Corn starch residue is a by product in the local production of corn pap. It is available all the year round but more in quantity in the raining season. Corn starch residue is widely used by the household. With the increase in the need for the additional livestock feeds, the household can effectively use these residues to feed and increase their goat production. Hence, this study was undertaken to see the effects of feeding soybean milk residue, cowpea seed waste and corn starch residue on the performance of WAD goats.

Materials and Methods

Treatments and diets

Twenty four WAD weaner goats comprising equal sexes were used in this experiment. The animals were 5 to 6 months old and weighed between 5.6 and 8.4 kg. They were randomly allotted to four treatments in a completely randomized design. The goats were housed individually in metabolic cages designed for the separate collection of faeces and urine, and provision of fresh feed and water daily.

The animals were quarantined, treated against endoparasites and ectoparasites prior to the commencement of the experiment. Four rations were formulated in such a way that groundnut cake (GNC-C), soybean milk residue (SMR), Corn starch residue (CSR) and cowpea seed wastes (CSW) served as sources of nitrogen. The SMR, CSR and CSW each provided up to 35% of the diet to replace 8% of GNC, 22% of corn bran and 5% of wheat offal in the control diet. Freshly, harvested Gliricidia sepium leaves were used as basal forage. The animals were fed 3% of their body weight (ARC 1980), at a ratio of 1.5% experimental concentrate and 1.5% forage on dry matter basis daily. Corn starch residue is a by-product of the extraction of starch from fermented, wet milled maize/corn during its household processing into wet, starchy, breakfast gruel, and usually has a crude protein content of above 16%. Soybean milk residue is prepared by a similar method with CSR. However, it is a by-product of the extraction of milk from soya beans. Cowpea seed wastes on the other hand are prepared from cowpea. Approximately 1.5 million tonnes of cowpea are produced annually in Nigeria, although none is available for feeding livestock as it is one of the most expensive food grains (Sonaiya 1995). The testa, however, is discarded during the processing of the cotyledons into a puree for making popular fried cake and steamed pudding. The testa represents about 6% of the weight of the whole cowpea. Each residue was air dried for three days to reduce moisture content and formulated into the experimental diets (Table1).

Experimental animals and location

The experiment was conducted at the goat unit of the Teaching and Research Farm, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. The experiment lasted for 12 weeks between July and October; 2001.

Digestibility trials

The animals were subjected to a 14-day adaptation period. Two digestion trials of 14 days each were carried out (8 to 9^th and 10^th to 11^th week) during the experimental period. Urine and faeces were collected each morning before the morning feeding (9.00 a.m.). The digestibility of the forage was first determined and the nutrients in the forage and faeces were analysed. The digestibility and nutrients content of the forage combined with the experimental diets were then determined and values for the concentrate portion (GNC-C, SMRD, CSRD and GNC) were calculated by difference (Schneider and Flatt 1975).

Management of experimental animals

Each animal was weighed before the commencement of the experimental period and weekly throughout the period. The feed leftovers were weighed to estimate the previous day's intake. The daily urine volume was  measured during the metabolic period. Both the forages and treatment diets offered were weighed daily. A 10% sample of faeces voided per day was dried in a forced-draught oven at 70°C for 24 hours. The daily stored samples of faeces were bulked, thoroughly mixed, ground and sub-sampled for chemical analysis. Urine was collected in presence of 5 ml of 5 %( v/v) glacial acetic acid, the volume was measured and a 10% aliquot was stored at 4°C in the deep freezer for chemical analysis.

Chemical and statistical analysis

All samples of feeds and faeces were dried in an oven (70°C) for 24 hours and some of the samples ground in a mortal. They were analysed for dry matter (DM), crude fibre (CF), ether extract(EE), ash and nitrogen-free extracts (NFE) as described by AOAC (1990). Crude protein (CP) was determined with the aid of a Kjeltec system digester (Tecator Model 1007) and Kjeltec-distilling unit (Tecator Model 1002). However, CP for faecal samples was done on fresh basis in order to avoid nitrogen loss when oven dried. Gross energy was determined using a ballistic bomb calorimeter, while copper was determined at the National Centre for Energy, OAU, using atomic absorption spectro-photometer. Proximate analyses of feed and faeces sample were determined, and urine samples were analyzed for nitrogen. Data obtained were statistically analyzed with the general linear model of SAS (1998) and the Duncan option of SAS (1998) and multiple range tests were used to detect significant differences among means.

Results and discussion

The data for chemical composition of the experimental diets (Table 2) indicate few differences among the diets, all of which had relatively high levels of crude protein and ether extract.

DM intakes were higher for the CSWD diet than for the control (GNC-C) mainly because of greater intake of forage (Table 3).

TDN was highest on the SMRD diet mainly because of higher values for digestibility of the ether extract component (Table 4).

Rates of live weight gain and feed conversion were similar on all diets (Table 5).

The reported data on digestibility coefficients, weight changes and feed conversion indicate that all the diets were satisfactory as feed for growing goats. The moderate rates of live weight gain are similar to those reported by Adebowale and Taiwo (1996), who recorded 28.4 g per day for West African dwarf goat fed diets containing 15% poultry litter. The decision to restrict the intake to 3% of live weight (DM basis) could also be a reason for the low weight gain as growing goats fed exclusively on high-protein tree and shrub foliages have been reported to consume up to 5% of their live weight as DM (Theng Kouch et al 2003).

Conclusion

From the result of this experiment, soybean milk residue, corn starch residue and cowpea seed waste can effectively replace groundnut cake and part of the corn bran in diets of West African Dwarf goats.

Use of these residues could help the household in providing feed for their goats especially in the dry season and also in increasing the size of household flocks. 

References

Adebowale E A and Taiwo A A 1996 Utilisation of crop residues and agro-industrial by- products as complete diets for West African dwarf sheep and goats. Nigeria Journal Animal production 23(2):153-160

AOAC 1990 Association of Official Analytical Chemist. Official methods of analysis, 15^th ed. Washington D. C. USA

ARC 1980 Agricultural Research Council, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux

Chidebelu S D and Ngondjou M 1997 The economies of goat production in South-eastern Nigeria. Implication for the future. Nigerian Journal of Animal production 25: 93-99

Coleman S W, Lippke H and Gill M 1999 Estimating the Nutritive Potential of Forages. The fifth international symposium on the nutrition of Herbivores. Nutritional Ecology of Herbivores: an Integration. San Antonio, Texas April 11-16.

Devendra C 1991 Feed Resources in Goat Husbandry and Breeding in the Tropics. Compiled paper presented in an International seminar carried out by German Foundation for international development (DSF) at the Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Malayan. Kwala Lumpur) pp 121-135

Dominique B M F, Dellow D W and Barry T N 1991 Voluntary intake and rumen digestion of low quality roughage by goats and sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science (Cambridge) 117 111-120.

Howe J C, Barry T N and Popay A J 1988 Voluntary intake and digestion of gorse by goat and sheep Journal of Agricultural Science (Cambridge): 111 107-114

Theng Kouch, Preston T R and Ly J  2003: Studies on utilization of trees and shrubs as the sole feedstuff by growing goats; foliage preferences and nutrient utilization;   Livestock Research for Rural Development (15) 7 Retrieved December 5, 2003 , from http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrd15/7/kouc157.htm

Onifade O S and Agishi E C 1990 A review of forage production and utilization in Nigeria Savannah. Utilisation of research result on forage and agricultural by product materials as animal feed resources in Africa. Proceedings of the first joint workshop, Lilongwe, Malawi, pp. 114-125.

Peacock C 1996 Improving Goat production in the tropics. A manual for Development Workers. An Oxfarm/FARM Africa Publication (UK and Ireland), pp. 1-20

SAS 1998 SAS User's Guide Statistics, SAS Inc. Cary, North Carolina, 1998 edition.

Schneider B H and Flatt W P 1975 Digestibility by difference in The Evaluation of Feeds through Digestibility Experiments. The University of Georgia Press, Athens.423pp

Sonaiya E B 1995 Feed resources for smallholder poultry in Nigeria. World Animal Review 82: 25-34 http://www.fao.org/ag/AGa/AGAP/WAR/warall/v4440b/v4440b0a.htm - feed resources for smallholder poultry