Abstract 212

Alhassan,-WS; Ehoche,-OW; Adu,-IF

National Animal Production Research Inst., Ahmadu Bello Univ., P. M. B. 1096, Zaria, Nigeria.

Journal-of-Animal-Production-Research. 1986, 6: 1, 39-53; 27 ref.

The influence of cottonseed cake (CSC) supplementation on the voluntary intake and nutritive value of untreated cereal straws of sorghum, millet and maize was evaluated using male Yankasa sheep and Red Sokoto goats. For each crop residue and small ruminant species, there were 4 levels of CSC supplementation daily, namely: 0, 60, 160 and 360 g for sheep and 0, 48, 128 and 288 g for goats on sorghum straw; 0, 50, 230 and 410 g for sheep and 0, 40, 184 and 328 g for goats on millet straw. For maize straw, corresponding levels were 0, 90, 260 and 430 g for sheep and 0, 72, 208 and 344 g for goats. Straw was offered to appetite. DM intake of straw (g/kg0.75) was generally higher in sheep than in goats. Of the cereal straws, millet was the most favoured followed by sorghum and maize. CSC supplementation at >60-90 g/day in sheep decreased straw intake whereas in goats this was 50-75 g. These amounts improved nitrogen retention. Straws were generally digested better by goats than by sheep. The point of depression in straw nutritive value from CSC supplementation (60 g for sorghum, 50 g for millet, 90 g for maize) generally corresponded with the levels that also depressed intake in sheep. In goats on sorghum and millet straws, there was a progressive decline in nutritive value from feeding with CSC at >48 and 40 g daily, respectively. For maize straw, there was no consistent pattern in goats given CSC.