Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility of Red Sokoto Goats Fed Urea Treated Maize Stover Supplemented with Graded Levels of Balanites aegyptiaca Leaf Forage

Abstract

Sixteen Red Sokoto male goats weighing on average 9.36±0.67 Kg were used for the experiment in a completely randomised design (CRD) for a duration of 12 weeks to determine the total feed intake, weight gain and apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients. The treatments were; A (control): the basal diet (maize stover treated with 4% urea) plus 100 g maize bran, B: control diet plus 100 g Balanites aegyptiaca, C: control diet plus 200 g Balanites aegyptiaca and D: control diet plus 300 g Balanites aegyptiaca. All animals were allowed ad libitum access to water and mineral lick. p<0.05 was considered as level of significance. Supplementing urea treated maize stover with Balanites aegyptiaca resulted in increased (p<0.05) total dry matter (DM) intake from 346.12 g/day (control), to 423.73 g/day (treatment B), 488.54 g/day (treatment C) and 536.81 g/day (treatment D). Supplementation increased (p<0.05) daily weight gain. Treatment D recorded the highest value of 52.00 g/day. Apparent DM digestibility increased (p<0.05) with supplementation with treatment D having the highest value of 74.32%. Nutrient digestibility also increased (p<0.05) with treatment D supplemented group having the highest values for all the parameters recorded.