THE VALUE OF DRIED POULTRY WASTE AS A PROTEIN-SUPPLEMENT FOR GROWING BORNO WHITE GOATS

In a growth study, the potential of dried poultry waste (DPW) as a protein source in concentrate diets was evaluated with 16 male Borno white goats. Dried poultry waste, replacing cotton seed cake, in different concentration (0 -30%) levels was offered over a 10-week period. The nutrient digestibility of the diets was determined in a digestibility trial. The crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract, ash, and gross energy values of DPW were 20.0, 16.5, 1.0, 21.0% and 15.4 KJ/g, respectively. Increasing the level of DPW from 0 to 30% in the diets significantly affected (p < 0.05) feed intake and liveweight gain, but did not affect feeding efficiency and dressing-out percentage. The daily total feed intake (g/wkg0.75) and mean liveweight gains (g/day) ranged from 71.75 to 77.53 and 71.57 to 83.86, respectively. The apparent digestion coefficient of dry matter, crude protein, crude fibre, nitrogen-free extract and gross energy were significantly better (p < 0.05) for the control diet than for the DPW-supplemented diets. Apparent nitrogen digestibility improved significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing levels of DPW in the diets. The results indicate that up to 30% DPW could be incorporated in concentrate diets for goats in this semi-arid region of the country. The animals would be expected to make some weight gain, especially during the long dry season, instead of the usual loss in body weight.