Effect of High Quality Feed Supplement blocks on nutritional status and animal performance on Djallonke sheep and West African Dwarf goats.

An experiment was conducted in The Gambia with Djallonke sheep in early pregnancy and West African Dwarf goats in late pregnancy to study the effects of High Quality Feed Supplement on pre- and post-partum animal performance. Supplementation had beneficial effects on weight support in both species (P < 0.05) and tended to improve milk production. The growth of the kids born from supplemented dams was increased to a larger extent in the supplemented group than in the control group. Owing to high contents of nitrogen in High Quality Feed Supplement, rumen pH tended to be higher in animals offered the supplement. The use of locally available by-products and the local manufacture of the blocks allowed a very low price. In agro-pastoral systems, this supplement could be very useful during periods of low availability in foodstuffs high in energy and nitrogen, such as during dry season.