Abstract 143

Anugwa,-FOI; Okori,-AU

Dep. Animal Science, Univ. Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.

Bulletin-of-Animal-Health-and-Production-in-Africa. 1987, 35: 3, 223-228; 17 ref.

Intake, digestibility and nitrogen balance studies were conducted with 9 yearling West African dwarf lambs averaging 17 kg body weight which were fed on the leaves of oil palm, Ficus elasticoides and cashew. Based on National Research Council standards, the daily intake of DM, crude protein (CP), digestible protein and total digestible nutrients was adequate for lambs fed on F. elasticoides and oil palm but inadequate for those fed on cashew; differences were significant. Digestibility coefficients of DM, CP, crude fibre, nitrogen-free extract and gross energy were higher (P<0.05) in F. elasticoides and oil palm than in cashew. The digestible energy values of F. elasticoides, oil palm and cashew for sheep were 3.38, 3.11 and 2.78 kcal/kg, respectively. Lambs fed on F. elasticoides and oil palm retained, on average, nitrogen 9.14 and 11.06 g/day, respectively, equivalent to 65.29 and 58.21% of N intake. Lambs fed on cashew lost an average of N 1.18 g/day or 27.4% of N intake and this differed (P<0.01) from the N retention of lambs fed on F. elasticoides or oil palm.