Feed Efficiency and Blood Profiles of West African Dwarf Goats Fed Pleurotus tuber-regium Biodegraded Rice Straw and Maize Offal -Brewer Yeast Slurry Mixture

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding Pleurotus Tuber-regium biodegraded rice straw (PTTRS) and maize offal: brewer yeast slurry mixture (MOBYS) on feed efficiency, haematological and serum biochemical profiles of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats.

Study Design: The Completely Randomized Design was used for the study.

Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted at the Sheep and Goat Unit section of the University of Agriculture Makurdi Livestock Teaching and Research Farm, Makurdi, Nigeria. Makurdi is located at Latitude 7º 43¹ N and Longitude 8º 31¹ E. The experiment lasted for 90 days.

Methodology: Twenty four West African Dwarf (WAD) goats weighing 8.05 kg on the average were allotted to six groups of four goats per treatment in a Completely Randomized Design for the study. The six dietary treatment groups were fed varying levels of MOBYS, and ad libitum, untreated rice straw (UTRS) and Pleurotus tuberregium treated rice straw (PTTRS) thus: T1= 100 g MOBYS and UTRS (control) ad libitum, T2=100 g MOBYS and PTTRS ad libitum, T3=200 g MOBYS and UTRS ad libitum, T4=200 g MOBYS and PTTRS ad libitum, T5=300 g MOBYS and UTRS ad libitum, and T6=300 g MOBYS and PTTRS ad libitum. Parameters measured were feed efficiency, haematological and serum biochemical profiles. On the last day of the study, blood was collected from jugular veins of the goats into previously prepared tubes and sent for analysis. The blood was analysed for haematological and serum biochemistry parameters using Midray 3500 Autohaematology Analyzer. Feed efficiency was calculated as the difference in weight between the final and initial weights divided by the amount of feed consumed between the dates the initial and final body weights were taken

Results: Feed efficiency values were 0.059, 0.061, 0.066, 0.068, 0.068 and 0.069 Kg for T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 respectively and the values showed a significant difference (P=.03). Values obtained for haematological parameters for T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 were as follows: Packed cell volume (PCV) 24.20, 24.80, 26.30, 27.00, 30.40 and 30.80%; haemoglobin (Hb) 8.50, 8.52, 9.02, 9.25, 11.20 and 11.40 g/dl; red blood cells (RBC) 13.10, 13.00, 14.12, 14.72, 15.80 and 16.20 x 106 ul; white blood cells (WBC) 8.10, 8.70, 8.80, 8.60, 8.10 and 8.70 x 106 ul; mean corpuscular volume (MCV) 22.85, 23.20, 23.70, 23.80, 24.20 and 24.80 fl; mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) 6.93, 7.02, 7.07, 7.10, 7.24 and 7.36 pg and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) 33.10, 33.40, 32.80, 33.50, 33.40 and 33.00 g/dl respectively while corresponding values for the serum biochemical parameters were: urea 17.21, 17.00, 17.30, 17.80, 17.50 and 17.60 mmol; total protein (TP) 68.60, 68.30, 69.10, 69.00, 70.70 and 70.80 g/dl; albumin (ALB) 32.10, 32.0, 32.0, 32.3, 32.8 and 32.90 g/dl; globulin (GBL) 46.48, 46.28, 46.85, 46.68, 47.88 and 47.90 g/dl; Serum Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase (SGOT) 198.10, 198.60, 198.60, 198.10, 198.80 and 198.90 iu/l; Serum Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase (SGPT) 95.30, 96.10, 95.80, 96.00, 95.60 and 95.40 mg/dl and creatinine 101.20, 103.00, 102.10, 103.20, 102.80 and 103.00 umol/l respectively. Significant differences were observed in only the PCV (P=.03), Hb (P=.02), RBC (P=.01), GBL (P=.02) and creatinine (P=.04); in general all the haematological and serum biochemical profile values were within the reference ranges.

Conclusion: It was concluded that feeding the test inputs at increasing levels improved the feed efficiency, haematological and serum biochemical parameters of the West African Dwarf goats.