Olabisi Onabanjo University - Feeding value of …...Feeding value of cassava products supplemented...

197 Trop. Agric. (Trinidad) Vol. 93 No. 3 July 2016

Feeding value of cassava products supplemented with

earthworm meal in diets of growing rabbits

O.O.Kuforiji, J.A.Agunbiade, H.A.Awojobi* and O.O.Eniolorunda

Department of Animal Production, Olabisi Onabanjo University

Yewa Campus, P.M.B 0012, Ayetoro, Ogun State, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author E-mail: [email protected]

An eight week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of earthworm meal supplementation in various cassava

based products in growing rabbit diets. Nine isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets were formulated such that each diet

contained a constant amount of Soybean Meal, SBM (50%) and Cassava Leaf Meal, CLM (25%) as part of the protein

component. The remaining 25% protein of animal origin was supplied by Fish Meal (FM) and Earthworm Meal (EWM) in

varying proportions as follows: Diet 1 (100% whole cassava root meal (WCRM), 12.5% FM protein, 12.5% EWM protein);

Diet 2 (50% WCRM, 50% cassava peel meal (CPM), 12.5% FM protein, 12.5% EWM protein); Diet 3 (50% WCRM, 50%

cassava chaff meal (CCM), 12.5% FM protein, 12.5% EWM protein); Diet 4 (25% WCRM, 75% CPM, 12.5% FM protein,

12.5% EWM protein); Diet 5 (25% WCRM, 75% CCM, 12.5% FM protein, 12.5% EWM protein); Diet 6 (50% WCRM,

50% CPM, 6.25% FM protein, 18.75% EWM protein); Diet 7 (50% WCRM, 50% CCM, 6.25% FM protein, 18.75% EWM

protein); Diet 8 (25% WCRM, 75% CPM, 6.25% FM protein, 18.55% EWM protein); Diet 9 (25% WCRM, 75% CCM,

6.25% FM protein, 18.55% EWM protein). Twenty seven (27) growing rabbits of mixed breeds and sexes were allotted to

the nine dietary treatments such that each was replicated three times and were fed and watered ad libitum. Data collected

included feed intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, as well as carcass characteristics, organ weights and gut dimension.

Results showed that feed intake was not significantly (P>0.05) affected by dietary treatments but weight gain and FCR were

both enhanced (P<0.05). Treatment effects on carcass characteristics, organ weights and gut dimensions were not

significant. The results suggested that EWM protein can replace 50% of FM protein in rabbit diets without any adverse

effects.

Keywords: Cassava products, growing rabbit, performance, carcass characteristics, fish meal, earthworm meal

Rabbits are efficient converters of feed to meat

and can utilize up to 30% crude fiber as against

10% by most poultry species (Egbo et al.

2001). Its meat which is white is high in quality

protein with low fat and cholesterol levels;

hence it is good for those with fat related

diseases like hypertension (Nodu et al. 2003).

Rabbit also has a reproductive potential that is

legendary. Despite the advantages enumerated,

studies on the production system showed that

other factors affect it, especially feeding,

which is the major limiting factor in achieving

optimal performance in rabbit. Although

rabbits do survive on forage pasture alone,

because of their limited forage utilization, it

was suggested that for maximum productivity

conventional feed should be used (Onwudike

1995). However the high cost of the feed

ingredients and the poverty level among the

citizenry call for alternative sources of

ingredient than the conventional ones. For

example, maize grain which is the main source

of carbohydrate and metabolisable energy in

conventional feed is a seasonal crop which is

in high demand by other sectors of the

economy either as food for human

consumption or industrial raw material for

production purposes. This high demand is

responsible for high cost of maize. There is

therefore need for an alternative source of

energy which would be cheaper, readily

available all year round and less competitive.

The search for this has led to discovery of

suitable alternatives, which include cassava

and its by products. Nigeria is ranked as the

highest producer of cassava in the world

producing around 34 million tonnes (FAO

2002). Most of the cassava produced is mainly

used for human consumption with little left for

processing. Furthermore, the Federal

government of Nigeria has effected legislation

that all flour mills must have a 10% inclusion

of cassava flour in all wheat flour that enters

the Nigerian market with effect from 1st July

0041-3216/2016/030197-12 © 2016 Trop. Agric. (Trinidad)

mailto:[email protected]

Cassava products with earthworm meal supplementation for rabbit feeding; O.O. Kuforiji et al

Trop. Agric. (Trinidad) Vol. 93 No. 3 July 2016 198

2006. The implication of this is that about

200,000 metric tonnes of unfermented cassava

will be required annually since about 2 million

metric tonnes of wheat flour is released into

Nigeria market by the currently operational 27

flour mills in the country. Because of the recent

government interest in cassava production, this

might make cassava peel and chaff, which are

often discarded during cassava processing into

“Fufu”, “Gari” and other cassava products,

suitable energy sources for non ruminant feed

in place of cassava root meal. Cassava starchy component compares

favorably with that of maize but at a much reduced price, cassava also has the singular advantage of good yield on poor soil as it can withstand drought better, thus making it a more suitable alternative source of livestock feed (IITA 2005). Cassava products are low in protein, amino acids and other nutrients and therefore they are used mainly as sources of energy. Hence the need to supplement cassava products with additional protein sources (Agunbiade et al. 2002). The animal protein source should not be expensive as in conventional feeds since it has been reported that protein, especially fish meal, is the most expensive feed stuff in animal feed formulation (Yaqub 1997). Other alternative sources of protein, such as shrimp waste meal had been successfully incorporated into broiler diets at various level of substitution for fishmeal (Agunbiade et al. 2004; Okonkwo et al. 2007). Cassava based feed product can also be cheaply fortified with cassava leaf meal as reported by Agunbiade and Susenbeth (2006). Other research findings have shown the replacement of fish meal with hatchery waste as reported by Agunbiade et al. (2007) for broiler finisher diets but the current work focuses on use of earthworm meal as replacement for fish meal at certain graded levels.

The challenge was to formulate rations for grower rabbits with the energy content supplied by maize replaced by whole cassava root, cassava chaff (cassava sievate) and cassava peel while improving on the amino

acid content and additional source of protein to improve the nutritional value of the diet by using earthworm meal. The objectives of the study are: 1. To determine the effect of earthworm meal

in combination with cassava chaff and peel on the performance of grower rabbits.

2. To evaluate the effect of the feeds on carcass composition, organ weights and gut dimensions.

3. To undertake a cost evaluation of the use of earthworm meal supplemented cassava products based diets for rabbit.

Materials and methods Study location The experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, College of Agricultural Sciences, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Yewa Campus, Ayetoro, Ogun State, Nigeria. The university campus is located in a deciduous/derived savannah zone of Nigeria at latitude 7o 15’N and longitude 3o 3’E. Climate is sub-humid tropical with an annual rainfall of 1,909.3mm. Rainy season is between early April and late October. Rainfall pattern is bimodial with two peaks in June and September. Maximum temperature varies between 29oC during the peak of the wet season and 340C at the onset of the wet season and mean annual relative humidity is 81% (Onakomaiya et al. 1992).

Test materials To obtain the Whole Cassava Root Meal (WCRM), cassava roots were washed with clean water to free them from soil debris. They were sliced with peel intact and then sun dried until practical dryness was achieved after seven days. The dried whole cassava was then milled to pass through a 2.00 mm screen and bagged, as whole cassava root meal.

Fresh cassava leaves were harvested



without the petioles and chopped into small sizes before wilting overnight. The wilted leaves were sun dried until dryness was achieved after four days. The leaves were milled to obtain Cassava Leaf Meal (CLM).

Fresh cassava peel and cassava chaff were obtained from “fufu” processing centers. Each was separately sun dried until dryness was achieved after five sunny days. The peels and the chaff were separately milled with hammer mill of particle size of 2.0 mm screen to obtain Cassava Peel Meal (CPM) and Cassava Chaff Meal (CCM) respectively.

Earthworm Meal (EWM) was prepared in batches as they were collected daily from soil in the university community and river banks in the environs. Each batch of earthworms collected was first washed with clean water and placed on sieve mesh of size 5.00 mm on top of a tray in the sun. The earthworms moved through the mesh into the trays away from the sun, after which they were washed again to free them from as much soil debris as possible. They were then blanched on a cooking stove for three minutes to immobilize them and render them tender for easy digestibility. The blanched worms were then sun-dried to dryness and milled and bagged as earthworm meal.

Other ingredients like soybean meal (SBM), fish meal (FM), wheat offal (WO), bone meal (BM), vitamins and mineral premixes, vegetable oil and salt were bought from feed millers. The materials were stored in a cool dry place before mixing.

Experimental diets

Nine experimental diets (Table 1) were

formulated to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous

in composition with a basal diet as the control

and the other eight diets contained proportions

of the basal diet and varying portions of

earthworm meal protein replacing the fish

meal protein as shown below:

Diet 1 was the control diet consisting of

100% WCRM as the major source of

energy, 50% SBM, 25% CLM protein,

12.5% FM protein and 12.5% EWM

protein.

Diet 2 consisted of 50% WCRM, 50% CPM,

50% SBM protein, 25% CLM protein,

12.5% FM and 12.5% EWM protein.

Diet 3 consisted of 50% WCRM, 50% CCM,



protein.




protein.




protein.




protein.




protein.




protein.




protein.



Table 1: Composition (g/kg) of experimental diets

Ingredient 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 WCRM 470 235.0 235.0 117.5 117.5 235.0 235.0 117.5 117.5 CPM - 235 - 352.8 - 235.0 - 352.8 - CCM 235.0 - 352.5 - 235.0 - 352.5 - 352.5 SBM 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 CLM 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 160 WO 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 FM 24 24 24 24 24 12 12 12 12 EWM 30 30 30 30 30 42 42 42 42 Veg Oil 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 BM 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 OS 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Salt 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Premix 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 WCRM= Whole Cassava Root Meal CPM= Cassava Peel Meal CCM= Cassava Chaff Meal CLM = Cassava Leaf

Meal SBM= Soyabean Meal WO= Wheat Offal FM= Fish Meal EWM= Earthworm Meal Veg Oil= Vegetable Oil

BM = Bone Meal OS = Oyster shell. Premix containing per kg diet: Vit. A 3.2 × 106 I.U; Vit.D 8.0 × 105 I.U; Vit. E

4 × 103 I.U; Vit. B1 400mg; Vit. B2 800mg; Vit. B3 300mg; B6 400mg; B12 3mg; Niacin 600mg; Panthothenic

acid1000mg; Folic acid 140mg; choline chloride 5.75 × 104 mg; Zinc 1.6 × 105 mg; Co 85mg; Mn 200mg; Ethoxyquine

650mg.

Experimental Animals

A total of twenty seven (27) rabbits of mixed

breeds (reciprocal crosses of New Zealand

White and Chinchilla) and sexes were

procured for the experiment. The animals were

placed on the same proprietary rabbit growers

mash until two weeks before the

commencement of the experiment. They were

weighed and randomly distributed into nine

groups (dietary treatments), adjustments were

made for weights and sexes within each group

having a total of three rabbits. The animals

were housed individually in three two-tier

cages (60cm x 30cm x 50cm). The animals

were fed recorded quantities of the

experimental diets daily for a two-week

preliminary period in order to adapt the

animals to the various ingredients in the

experimental diets.

Experimental Procedure

The various experimental diets were fed to the

rabbits for a period of eight weeks. During this

period feed and cool fresh water were provided

ad libitum. Feed for each day was given twice

(008-009h and 017-018h).The quantities of

feed given were measured daily while weight

gains were recorded on a weekly basis. At the

end of the experiment all the rabbits were

slaughtered by severing the jugular veins after

stunning. The skin of the rabbits was removed

and evisceration done.

Data Collection

Daily feed intake, weekly live weight changes

and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) expressed

as grammes feed consumed per gramme

weight gain were calculated.

Slaughter records were kept on wholesale

cuts (shoulder, loin, rack and thigh) by

products (head, wet skin, legs and gut) as well

as the visceral organs (heart and liver). These

were weighed separately and various gut

dimensions considered and recorded. The

dressing percentage of rabbits in each

treatment was calculated as: Dressing % = Dressed weight / Live weight × 100



Proximate and Chemical Analysis

The oven-dried samples of feed were analysed

for residual moisture, crude protein, ether

extract, crude fibre (AOAC 1995), acid

detergent fibre (ADF) and Neutral detergent

fibre (NDF) (Van Soest and Robertson 1985).

Statistical Analysis

Data collected were subjected to the analysis

of variance (ANOVA) for a completely

randomized design (SAS 1999). Differences

between the treatment means were tested using

the Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (SAS 1999)

Results

Composition of test ingredients and

experimental diets

The proximate and gross energy composition

of the test ingredients used in this study are

shown in Table 2. The proximate composition

of cassava by- products showed low levels of

crude protein for WCRM, CPM and CCM

ranging from 1.79% to 3.46%. The crude fibre

values were CPM (15.27%), CCM (18.75 %)

and CLM (16.38%). The energy value of

cassava products ranged from 11.70 to 14.51

MJ/kg. The crude protein value obtained for

earthworm meal (EWM) in this study was

67.41%, with an ash content of 5.24%. Table 3

shows the proximate composition of the

experimental diets. The values of crude protein

determined for experimental diets were

isonitrogeous ranging from 20.4% in the

control diet to 21.7% in Diet 8, while the crude

fibre range was 5.76% in the control to 7.06 %

in Diet 9. The ether extract range of

experimental diets was 3.57 % to 3.84 % while

the ash range in percentage was from 11.28%

in Diet 2 to 13.94% in Diet 8. The gross energy

content for the experimental diets was

isocaloric ranging from 13MJ/kg in Diet 2 to

13.12MJ/kg in Diet 8.

Table 2: Gross energy (MJ/kg), proximate (g/kg) and detergent fibre (g/kg) component of test

ingredients

Test Ingredient

WCRM CPM CCM CLM EWM

Gross Energy 11.80 11.70 11.80 14.51 10.53

Dry Matter 886.2 870.8 886.2 891.5 881.3

Crude Protein 26.5 34.6 17.9 153.4 674.1

Crude Fibre 17.9 152.7 187.5 163.8 21.4

Ether extract 8.6 15.8 9.3 59.7 5.63

Ash 23.7 31.8 30.6 142.9 52.4

Nitrogen Free Extract 809.5 635.9 640.9 371.7 77.1

Acid Detergent Fibre 465 342.5 229.5 326.8 38.2

Neutral Detergent Fibre 305.2 598.9 605.5 548.1 95.8

WCRM= Whole Cassava Root Meal ; CPM= Cassava Peel Meal ; CCM= Cassava Chaff Meal

CLM = Cassava Leaf Meal ; EWM= Earthworm Meal



Table 3: Gross energy (MJ/kg), proximate (g/kg) and detergent fibre (g/kg) component of

experimental diets

Experimental Diets

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Gross Energy

Dry matter

Crude Protein

Crude Fibre

Ether extract

Ash

Nitrogen Free

Extract

Acid Detergent Fibre

Neutral Detergent

Fibre

13.7

903.2

203.9

57.6

36.1

120.4

485.2

407.8

404.7

13.00

907.2

206.9

58.6

35.9

112.8

493

368

522.4

13.06

904.8

207.7

59.1

35.7

115.7

486.3

331.5

524.7

13.05

906.6

204.7

59.8

36.9

117.9

487.3

340.8

581.3

13.04

905.2

210.5

68.5

36.5

118.7

471

297.2

585.6

13.08

905.3

212.2

69.4

37.7

124.9

461.3

368

526.3

13.03

906.5

214.3

69.7

37.4

123.6

461.5

349.2

529.5

13.12

903.4

216.7

69.7

37.9

139.4

439.8

358

585.2

13.10

902.1

215.8

70.6

38.4

138.5

438.8

303.4

589.5

Table 4: Performance characteristics of rabbits fed experimental diets

Experimental Diets

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SEM

Daily feed Intake (g) 73.02

Daily Weight gain (g) 11.25ab

Feed conversion ratio 6.71bc

73.02

11.25ab

6.71bc

72.37

8.93b

8.10ab

72.95

8.45b

8.63a

73.07

12.14a

6.11c

74.18

10.36ab

7.23abc

76.08

10.30ab

7.50abc

71.98

9.52ab

7.72abc

72.57

11.90a

6.15c

76.00

11.31ab

6.78abc

1.95

1.24

0.80

* a b c: Means within the same row bearing different superscripts are significant (P<0.05).

Live performance characteristics of rabbits fed experimental diets The average daily weight gain, feed intake and feed efficiency are presented in Table 4. Daily feed intake ranged between 72.37g in Diet 2 to 76.08g in Diet 6. Treatment effects on feed intake were not significantly (P>0.05) different. Dietary treatments however, significantly (P<0.05) influenced daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio with rabbits on diets 4 and 8 gaining significantly more weight than those on diets 3 and 2. Other dietary treatments had values comparable with Diets 4 and 8 for weight gain. Variation in weight gain between rabbits on the control diet and those of the other diets were not significant. The best feed conversion ratio was observed in rabbits on Diet 4 which also had the best weight gain. The poorest feed conversion ratio was in rabbits on Diet 3 and the value was significantly (P<0.05) lower than that of the

control and Diet 4. Rabbits on Diet 3 also had the lowest weight gain. Apart from Diet 3, the control diet had comparable (P>0.05) values with other dietary treatments for feed conversion ratio. Carcass yield, organs and wholesale cuts The carcass and organ characteristics of rabbits fed experimental diets are shown in Table 5. Apparent differences in the values for dressed weight, percentage dressed weight, shoulder, thigh, rack, liver and heart were not significant (P>0.05). However rabbits fed control diet had significantly (P<0.05) higher loin than those fed Diets 2 and 7. Also the control diet fed rabbits had significantly (P<0.05) higher head weight than those fed Diets 6 and 8. The skin weight of rabbits fed Diets 7 and 9 was significantly (P<0.05) higher, while those fed Diet 2 were significantly (P<0.05) lower than those fed the other diets.



Table 5: Effect of dietary treatment on edible parts in percentage dress weight and body organs,

product in percentage live weight

Treatment

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SEM

Live

weight(g)

1706.6 1580.6 1624.1 166.06 1563.8 1754.2 1592 1802.8 1744.1 1.76

Dressed

weigh(g)t

868 797.3 827.3 869.3 780 888.1 795.7 904.3 923 1.64

Dressed

Percentage

50.86 50.44 50.94 52.18 49.88 50.66 49.98 50.16 52.92 1.05

Shoulder(g) 227.42 183.58 202.85 219.32 197.11 225.64 119.74 232.41 231.58 1.32

% Dress wt 26.20 23.02 24.52 25.47 25.23 25.39 24.48 25.70 25.09 1.36

Thigh(g) 317.69 312.94 308.33 309.56 284.78 328.55 300.62 360 343.17 1.96

% Dress wt 36.60 39.25 37.27 35.65 36.51 36.97 37.78 39.81 37.18 1.83

Loin(g) 219.95a 152.04c 189.45ab 197.59ab 177.45ab 198.00ab 174.82b 196.3ab 218.66ab 1.54

% Dress wt 25.34 19.07 22.90 22.73 22.75 22.28 21.97 21.71 23.69 1.27

Rack(g) 116.66 107.95 110.78 120.83 103.27 123.35 111.08 119.19 128.39 1.14

% Dress wt 13.44 13.54 13.39 13.90 13.24 13.99 13.96 13.18 13.91 0.96

Liver(g) 45.7 35.27 43.8 43.3 46.5 43.1 37.7 41.2 43.3 0.51

% Live wt 2.68 2.23 2.70 2.60 2.97 2.46 2.37 2.29 2.48 0.4

Heart(g) 4.0 3.2 3.8 4.77 3.8 5.02 4.13 4.97 5.11 0.09

% Live wt 0.23 0.20 0.23 0.29 0.24 0.286 0.26 0.28 0.29 0.05

Head(g) 154c 155.8bc 154.6bc 153.6cd 145.1cd 135.8d 153dc 201.1a 184.4ab 0.51

% Live wt 9.02 9.86 9.52 9.22 9.28 7.74 9.61 11.20 10.57 0.49

Skin(g) 151.4ab 136.3d 133.8b 135.6b 144.3b 141.1b 166.4a 142.7b 178.7a 0.85

% Live wt 8.87 8.62 8.24 8.14 9.23 8.04 10.45 7.92 10.25 0.81

Leg(g) 32.57bcd 29.7cd 34.3abc 31.1d 32.9abcd 33.6cd 35.8ab 41.7a 35.7abcd 0.14

% Live wt 1.91 1.88 2.11 1.87 2.10 1.90 2.25 2.31 2.05 0.12

* Means within the same row bearing different superscripts are significant (p<0.05)

Gut weight and dimension

The effect of dietary treatments on gut weight

(g) and gut dimension (cm) of the experimental

rabbits are shown in Table 6. There were

significant differences (P<0.05 ) for the weight

of the entire GIT with the rabbits on Diet 5

having the highest value of 285.3g (20.85% of

the live weight) while rabbits fed diet 6 had the

least weight of GIT 213.23g (12.12% live

weight). The full weight of small intestine was

also significantly (P<0.05) influenced by

dietary treatment with rabbits fed Diet 6 having

the highest value of 48.7g (3.01% live weight)

and rabbits fed Diet 3 having the lowest value

of 24.1 (1.11% live weight). The full weight of

caecum followed the same trend being

influenced significantly (P<0.05) by treatment

with rabbits fed Diet 5 having 102.3g (8.83%

live weight) while rabbitS fed Diet 6 have the

lowest value of 82.1 (5.08% live weight).

Similarly caecal length was significantly

(P<0.05) affected by dietary treatments. The

length of small intestines increased from Diet

1 until Diet 5, when the longest length of

198.2cm was recorded. Thereafter, the length

decreased until the shortest length was attained

in Diet 9.



Table 6: Effect of dietary treatment on organ weight (g) and gut dimension (cm) of experiment

rabbits

Dietary Treatment

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SEM Weight of entire GIT

Full weight of small intestine

Empty wt of small intestine

Full weight of caecum

Empty weight of caecum

Length of small intestine

Length of caecum

228.01c

33.7b

20.96bc

90.20cd

41.46b

184.3ab

52.15ab

221.6c

31.2c

21.2ab

87.03cd

46.9b

183.7ab

48.4ab

250.27c

24.1a

20.5bc

105.7d

36.12cd

178.3e

47.7d

258.2c

33.1bcd

22.5ab

110.2b

45.3b

185.7bcd

47.2cd

285.3a

47.2a

24.27a

121.77a

40.2bcd

198.2a

47.0bc

213.23c

48.7d

16.2c

82.1bc

51.7a

141.1de

42.6d

219.36c

24.9cd

15.03d

88.2cd

23.6c

188bcd

49.3bc

220.7c

39.7cd

15.4d

88.74d

27.6c

151.3bcd

50.8ab

278.73ab

34.4bc

23.00ab

115b

43.7b

108.9bcd

54.06a

0.511

0.186

0.129

0.318

0.27

0.609

4.26

Cost-benefit analysis of experimental diets

Table 7 shows the cost of individual feed

ingredients. The result of the economic studies

of the feeding trials is presented in Table 8. The

percentage cost reduction on feed savings of

each diet, using the control diet as an index

progressively increases from diets 2 – 9 due to

minimal cost of the cassava based by-products.

The feed cost analysis suggested that the cost

of feed per unit of weight gain is reduced at

higher levels of cassava replacement with

either cassava peel or cassava chaff. The cost

of daily feed intake per weight gain was best

for animals on diet 9 (0.255) and highest for

those on diet 3 (0.411) as compared with the

control. The economic efficiency (feed

cost/weight gain) of weight gain reveals that

rabbits on diet 9 were significantly (P<0.05)

better than those on diets 1, 2. 3, 5, 6 and 7.

Table 7: Market Price of feed ingredients at

time of experiment

Ingredients cost (N/kg)

Whole cassava root

Cassava peel

Cassava chaff

Soya bean meal

Wheat offal

Fish meal

Born meal

Oyster shell

Vitamin/mineral permits

Salt

Vegetable oil

Earthworm

Cassava leaf

20

4

4

95

32

370

27

13

450

50

400

50

2

Milling at N50 per 30kg feed.

Table 8: Cost benefit analysis of feeding experimental diets to rabbits

Dietary Treatment

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SEM

Cost/kg diet

% cost reduction relative to control diet

Average daily feed intake (g/d)

Cost of daily feed intake (N/d)

Average daily weight gain (g/d)

Economic efficiency of weight gain

feed cost (N) weight gain (g)

51.43

-

73.02

3.76

11.25ab

0.334bc

47.67

7.31c

72.37

3.45

8.93b

0.386bc

47.67

7.31c

72.95

3.48

8.45b

0.411c

45.79

10.97bc

73.07

3.35

12.14a

0.275ab

45.79

10.97bc

74.18

3.40

10.36ab

0.328bc

43.73

14.97ab

76.08

3.33

10.30ab

0.323bc

43.73

14.97ab

71.98

3.15

9.52ab

0.331bc

41.85

18.63a

72.54

3.04

11.90ab

0.281ab

41.85

18.63a

76.00

3.18

11.31ab

0.255a

0.95

2.54

1.95

0.65

1.24

0.78

*a,b, c = means within the same row bearing different superscripts are significant (p<0.05)



Discussion

The values obtained for the proximate analysis

of test ingredients of cassava by-products were

similar to those reported by Smith (1992) and

Kehinde et al. (2007). The utilization of

cassava and its products can be impaired by

high crude fibre (Agunbiade et al. 2007) which

were 15.27, 18.75 and16.38% for CPM, CCM

and CLM respectively. The highest bulk fibre

(NDF) was recorded for CCM (60.55%)

followed by CPM (59.89%) and 54.95% for

CLM, the least value of 30.52% was recorded

for WCRM. The percentage neutral detergent

fibre is directly related to crude fibre content of

feedstuffs but its utilization according to

Ranjhan (2001) is greatly affected by its acid

detergent fibre content which is related to fibre

digestibility. The lowest level of ADF of

22.95% recorded for CCM makes it potentially

more digestible than peel and leaf. The low

value of ADF for CCM could be attributed to

the different processing technique that the

feedstuff had undergone such as pressing,

soaking, fermentation and grinding which

according to Agunbiade et al. (2002) would

have led to reduction of its cyanide content

below the toxic level for livestock feed. The

crude protein value obtained for earthworm

meal (EWM) in this study was 67.41% which

makes it comparable with fish meal (FM) thus

making it a good source of protein and a

suitable substitute for FM. However this value

was higher than those reported by Mekada

(1979) and Orozco-Almanza et al. (1988) with

reported average value of 57.25%. The values

of crude protein determined for experimental

diets were isonitrogeous ranging from 20.4%

in the control diet to 21.7% in diet 8. These

values for crude protein diets fall within the

range of 18-22% recommended by Omole

(1982) for the efficient production of rabbits in

a tropical environment. The crude fibre range

for the experimental diets was 5.76% in the

control diet to 7.06% in diet 9, the values here

are lower than the recommended value of at

least 9% for normal growth of rabbits by

Champe and Maurice (1983).

The feed intake range of 71.80 -

76.08g/day was higher than 60.08 –

62.86g/day reported by Agunbiade et al.

(1999) in an experiment with cassava peel and

leaves in diet of rabbits but slightly lower than

the range of 71.00 – 80.10g/day reported by

Agunbiade et al. (2002) for performance

characteristics of weaner rabbits on cassava

peel balanced diets. The reason for this

difference in feed intake could be attributed to

the fact that CCM is better digested than CPM.

The values obtain for weight gain of rabbits in

this experiment were lower than those reported

by Agunbiade et al. (2002).

Replacing 75% WCRM by CPM in diets in

which between 0 and 50% of FM protein was

replaced by EWM protein did not bring about

significant difference in daily weight gain and

efficiency of feed conversion of rabbits for

diets 4 and 8 versus the control diet 1. The

results of this study indicate that up to 50% of

WCRM can be replaced by either CPM or

CCM, when 50% of FM protein is replaced by

EWM protein in cassava product based diets.

This result supports the findings of Agunbiade

et al. (2002) which suggest that cassava peels

can completely replace maize without

deleterious effects on growth and efficiency of

feed conversion in growing rabbits. The daily

weight gain of 8.45 – 12.14 is similar to 10.1g

reported by Adama and Nma (2002) when

groundnut leaves were fed to rabbits and 12.3g

reported by Omole and Ajayi (1976) who fed

dried brewer grains to rabbits. The general non significant effect of

dietary treatments on the majority of the carcass quality attributes observed in this study is an indication that the experimental diets were equally effective as the control diet in influencing carcass quality of rabbits. Similar observations on the influence of cassava-based diets in equally affecting carcass components of rabbits have been reported by Agunbiade et al. (1999). The dressing percentage in this trial was between 49.88% and 52.92%. This is in agreement with that reported for overall



dressing percentage of about 50% obtained by Osei and Doudu (1988). The percentage range of shoulder in this experiment is between 23.02 – 26.02%, higher than that reported by Rao et al. (1978) whose range was 17.10 – 18.70%. The difference observed might be due to differences in breed, sex or method of cutting. The percentage range for liver in the experimental rabbit which was 2.29 – 2.79 is lower than 3.18 -3.29 as reported by Essien and Udedibe (2007) for growing rabbit fed jack beans. The liver is one of the major organs involved in nutrient metabolism of the animal but since no significant difference (P>0.05) was observed between rabbits fed control diets and experimental diets, this shows that the different dietary treatments did not affect the experimental animals.

The significant effect of dietary treatments

on pelt % (skin) could be due to different levels

of sub-cutaneous fat deposition. Sobayo et al.

(2007) reported the value of 9.12 – 9.55%,

while in this trial 10.45% was recorded when

75% CCM replaced WCRM. This may

probably be due to the method of processing

CCM which could influence the fat available

to the animal when compared with the other

diets.

There was a significantly heavier weight of

the entire gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and full

weights of the small intestine and caecum

recorded for rabbits on diets 4, 5 and 9

compared with the control diet. This seems to

imply that ingesta stayed for a longer time in

the gut of these rabbits than those of other

experimental animals. Since fibre, particularly

hemicellulose component, is known to hasten

digester movement in the GIT, it would appear

that the lower ADF component in CPM and

CCM as WCRM is replaced, provided lower

fibre content, which could be responsible for

delayed transit time of digesta, as it moved

through the GIT.

Conclusion

There is a high level of competition between

man and livestock for grains like maize and

millets. Fish meal, a source of dietary protein

is also expensive. Animal production scientists

are therefore searching for cheaper but

available alternative feedstuffs. The findings

of this experiment showed that cassava peel

and cassava chaff can replace whole cassava

root meal as a main source of energy. Similarly

earthworm meal has been demonstrated to

have great potential as an inexpensive protein

substitute for fish meal in grower rabbit diets.

Further research should be conducted on the

possibility of the whole energy source of the

diet being supplied by cassava by-products

such as cassava peel and chaff with the entire

protein also supplied by earthworm meal

which are of no dietary importance to man.

Efforts should also be geared towards

encouraging vermiculture.

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