Global Journal of Animal Scientific Research
Volume:5 Issue: 4, Autumn 2017

The production potential of Hamari sheep, particularly flock size, structure, and management practices under range condition were investigated in Geibash locality, North Kordofan state, Sudan. The flock size was of three types, small (56), medium (156), and large (403) head. Breeding females constituted 50 % of the flock, breeding male ranged from 3 to 5 %, castrates represented 21.5 to 23 % in small and medium flocks and 31% in large ones. Suckling lambs ranged from 5 to 7 %, while weaned lambs constituted 3 to 8 % in the different flocks. Management practices included, weaning, castration, and branding of young lambs, which were done at the third month of age. Castration practice was to control breeding and for fattening of castrates. The main methods used were crushing of spermatic cords between two wood rods (92. %); and the Burdizzo 7.9 %, branding animal was done mainly by fire, and ear cutting. Feeding depended mainly on natural pasture. Live weight of Hamari sheep ranged from 35.03 ± 0.97 to 60.94 ± 2.01 kg for milk teeth to three pairs of permanent incisors. The mean weight of mature males was greater than that of mature females. Body measurements showed progressive increase with age and sex appeared to have significant effect on these parameters. The study recommended abandoning breeding control practice and allowing ewes to breed all year round, in addition to feed supplement during mating and late pregnancy.

This paper was aimed at investigating the relationship between body weight and body measurements in normal feathered and naked neck genotypes so as to ascertain the existence or otherwise of collinearity instability. If detected, fix the problem using PCA. Body weight (BW) and seven linear body dimensions; chest circumference (CC), body length (BL), wing span (WS), thigh length (TL), shank length (SL), neck length (NL) and beak length (BkL) were taken from one-hundred and fifty-six matured local chickens comprising 97 normal feathered (57 males and 40 females) and 59 naked necks (24 males and 35 females). GLM was used to study genotype and sex effects. Naked neck birds (NNBs) had higher values for BW, CC, BL and TL compared to their normal feathered (NF) counterparts. Sexual dimorphism was observed in all the traits with higher values recorded for males. Phenotypic correlations among BW and biometric traits were positive and highly significant (r = 0.51-0.95 and 0.52-0.98; <0.01 for NFBs and NNBs). Collinearity diagnosis revealed two severe cases each in NFBs (VIF = 12.60 (CC) and 13.75 (BL)) and NNBs (VIF = 26.39 (CC) and 23.12 (BL)). Collinearity problems were further conï¬rmed from the computations of the eigenvalues of the correlation matrix, condition indexes and variance proportion. Using varimax rotation of the transformation matrix, three Principal Components (PCs) were extracted each for NFB and NNB. The three extracted PCs accounted for 90.913% and 87.086% of the total variance for NFB and NNB respectively. Linear regression of extracted PCs against BW revealed that tolerance (T) = 1 for all the extracted components. This implies that no percentage of the variance in the PC1 of NFBs and NNBs could be explained by the other extracted PCs (PC2 and PC3) included in the model; this clearly shows that the collinearity has been fixed. Further confirmation test with VIF shows that, VIF of PCFS equaled one which neatly shows that the variances of the estimated coefficient were no longer inflated.

The study was conducted in Bahir Dar Zuria, Mecha and Yelmana Densa districts from September 2013 to October 2014, with the objective of assessing breeding practices in dairy cattle in West Gojjam zone. Interviews using pre-tested structured questionnaires administered to 180 households and 9 focus group discussions were used to generate the data on dairy cattle breeding practices in the study area. Data analysis was done using SAS (9.1) and SPSS version 20. One way ANOVA was used for milk production, ranking method and descriptive statistics (means, standard errors and percentages). The most common mating system in all sites was natural control mating. The primary breeding objective of the community was to obtain better milk yield. Milk (Index= 0.169) was the first production preference of the respondent farmers in the study area. About 53.54 % of dairy farmers in the study area preferred AI with synchronization followed by controlled natural mating (30%).Community based breeding program by incorporating indigenous knowledge of farmers is the best option in improving breeding practice of dairy cattle in West Gojjam Zone.

Numerous factors can prolong postpartum anestrus, affecting productivity and economic returns of the bovine industry. To improve reproductive performance a variety of hormonal combinations are used, a vast majority of these protocols use progesterone in which correspond to the greater costs of the protocols. An alternative to reduce the cost of such protocols is through the re-use of progesterone implants. A total of 422 multiparous cows, calved between 40 to 60 days with body condition score between 2.0 and 3.0 (scale of 1-5) were used in the experiment. The animals were divided into four groups randomly (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th use implant) and synchronized for FTAI. Pregnancy rate was evaluated at 45 days by ultrasound. In general, pregnancy rate was 44.7% (188/422). No significant difference (P>0.05) was found between cows in the four groups.

The study was conducted at the Department of Animal Science, Bayero University Kano. Kano State of Nigeria. Kano lies between latitude 13°N in the north and 11° in the south and longitude 8° west in the west and 10° in the east in the semi- arid region of Northern Nigeria. The State occupies a land area of 20,760 km square with a population of 9,383,682 people (Census, 2006). Hausa-Fulani are the major ethnic groups in the area and Islam is the dominant religion. The climate of Kano is hot during dry season and cold during Harmattan. The ambient temperature ranges from 16.6°C to 42.8°C in the months of January to June and 23.9°C to 26.7°C in July to December (Anonymous, 2010). An average monthly precipitation of 0 to 30mm was recorded in January to June and 780 to 1320mm in July to December (KNARDA, 2001). Trading is the major occupation of the people living in the metropolis of Kano while in other areas farming is the main occupation. Meats from the Longissimus dorsi of the hind limb of camel and cattle were used for the experiment. 4kg of Kilishi was produced each from cattle and camel meats. The proximate composition of fresh raw meats and processed Kilishi were determined using the standard procedure of AOAC (1990). Ash of the samples was analyzed for macro (Na, K, P, Ca, Mg.) and micro (Cd, Co, Mn and Fe) minerals using Atomic Absorption Spectrophometre. The result showed low moisture content in beef (14.05%), and camel meat Kilishi (15.05%). Protein contents of beef and camel meat Kilishi were 60.50% and 64.83%, respectively. Fat content of beef (7.80%) and camel meat Kilishi (6.40%) were higher than that of raw beef (2.86%) and camel meat (3.45%). Sodium (Na) content of beef and camel meat Kilishi were 804.55mg/kg and 799.79mg/kg respectively significantly (P<0.05) higher than 489.96mg/kg and 395.81mg/kg recorded on raw products. No significant difference was recorded on Ca content of the products. Recorded values on K and Mg were higher in raw meat compared to Kilishi. Cd, Co and Fe of beef Kilishi were higher than other products except for Mn which showed no significant difference. It was concluded that processing had no effect on the mineral composition of Kilishi. It was recommended that fresh camel and cattle meats could be processed into Kilishi to extend their shelf lives.

The aim of the study was to develop a probiotic whey based fruit beverage .The awareness and consumption of probiotic foods have increased in the recent times. Lactobacillus acidophilus strain was used in the formulation of the whey beverage. The prebiotic effect of papaya was assessed by viable count test.  The blend ratio of whey and papaya was optimized on sensory evaluation .The blend ratio of whey and papaya was optimized at 70: 30 respectively and fermented for two hours. The whey papaya beverage developed had titrable acidity, pH and total viable count of  0.22%, 4.92 and 9.13 log 10 cfu  respectively.

ABSTRACTMost research in modification of nutrient values of crop residue by using biological methods has primarily focused on treatment using fungi. The use of bacterial isolates yet hardly assessed to isolate novels from different sources. Some reports indicated the lignocellulolytic activity of thermostatic bacteria and the potentials to produce in shorter time. In this context, the present study was focused on isolation of novel thermostatic bacteria from different sources to improve the nutritional value of crop residues thereby utilization of ruminants. For biological treatment four bacteria were isolated from different sources and one noble isolate was selected. Crop residues such as sugarcane baggase (SB), corn straw (CS) and teff straw (Eragrostis tef) (TS) were used and fermented with isolate HSW. The amount of reducing sugar, % of saccharification, crud protein, % lignin loss and % in vitro digestibility (IVDMD) were measured and statistically analyzed. While the maximum amount of reducing sugar (531mg/100ml), % of saccharification (477.9mg/100ml), % of lignin loss (38.80%) and % of IVDMD (47.69%) were reported in SB treated with HSW. The amount of reducing sugar and % saccharification of SB was statistically significant (p<0.005). CS treated with bacterial strain responsible for accumulation of high crude protein (36.5mg/100gm) with significant value of (p<0.005).The availability of crop residues such as SB, CS and TS fermentation with noble thermostatic bacterial isolate HSW could be an option in animal feed formulation. Thermostatic bacteria considered as a competent organism for biological treatment.

One hundred and eighty day-old Marshal strain unsexed broiler chicks were used determine the toxicological effect of feeding broiler chicks with differently processed (Raw Defatted Meal RDM, Toasted Defatted Meal TDM, Cooked Defatted Meal CDM, Lye Defatted Meal LDM and Sand Roasted Defatted Meal ZRDM) Jatropha curcas kernel meals in an experiment that lasted for 21 days. 6 dietary treatments (control inclusive) of 30 birds per treatment of 3 replicates of 10 birds each in a complete randomized design. Each differently processed Jatropha curcas kernel meals were used to replace one-third of the soybean meal in the control diet. The heat treatments reduced the antinutrients with minimal effect on the saponin and phorbol esters present in the Jatropha curcas kernel meal. Histological changes observed from the liver of the broiler chicks fed the diets ranges from mild to severe degeneration of the hepatocytes, an indication of substantial residual toxin in processed kernels. From this study, one-third of the raw and different processed Jatropha curcas kernel cake meal cannot quantitatively replace soybean meal since there were depressed mild to severe changes in the organs of broiler fed these diets, therefore futher biogradation of the test ingredients could be explored.

Effect of toasted African Nutmeg (Monodora myristica) spice in Aspergillus flavus-infested diets on growth performance of broilers was investigated using broilers in a 3x2 factorial experiment. Infection status was significant (P<0.05) for daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio. Daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio were 134.19g/b/d, 39.23g/b/d, 3.59g/b/d and 1.10g/b/d for the non-infected diets, while aflatoxin infection from Aspergillus flavus was observed to reduce (P<0.05) feed intake to 130.51g/b/d and weight gain (33.67g/b/d). FCR and PER were also reduced (P<0.05) by the presence of aflatoxin from Aspergillus flavus in the diet. Effect of Monodora myristica supplementation on feed intake, average daily weight gain, FCR and Protein efficiency ratio was significant (P<0.05) for all the measured parameters. The Feed intake, average daily weight gain, FCR and Protein efficiency increased (P<0.05) as Monodora myristica inclusion level increased. Feed intake (119.8g/b/d),daily weight gain (28.90g/b/d), FCR (4.28) and PER (0.94) were observed in the Monodora-free (0%) diet. 0.5% and 1.0% levels of Monodora inclusion produced similar (P>0.05) effects on all the growth parameters but were higher than the control. The interaction of aflatoxin  infection and Monodora inclusion level were significant for all the growth parameters. The interaction of aflatoxin  infection x Monodora inclusion levels recorded feed intake of 107.97g/b/d, 137.36 and 146.19g/b/d respectively for 0%, 0.5% and 1.0% Monodora; 22.27g/b/d, 37.87g/b/d and 40.83g/b/d daily weight gain and 4.85%, 3.63% and 3.58% FCR. The interaction effect of Monodora inclusion level in infection-free diets on the birds feed intake were 131.65g/b/d, 147.24g/b/d and 123.67g/b/d respectively for 0%, 0.5% and 1.0%. The interaction effect at 0.5% inclusion level x non-infected diet was significantly higher (41.31g/b/d) than that at 0% inclusion level on daily gain. However, the daily weight gain of 40.83g/b/d observed in the interaction of 1.0% Monodora level x aflatoxin -free diet similar (P<0.05) to that observed in the 0.5% inclusion level. The feed conversion ratio produced by the interactions at the three different levels (0%, 0.5% and 1.0%) in the Aspergillus-free diets were (P>0.05) 3.71, 3.57 and 3.49 respectively while PER were (P<0.05) 1.05, 1.13 and 1.11 respectively. From the results, Monodora myristica tends to be a beneficial to poultry farmers, since about 90% of the poultry feed ingredients especially grains are constantly exposed to aflatoxin infection from Aspergillus flavus and other mycotoxin infections which hinder maximum nutrient utilization and affect the rate of conversion of feed.

Background: Fish meal has been acknowledged to cause improvement in livestock products quality. An alternative to conventional fish meal could be found in fish processing waste. Fish meal is a recognized animal feedstuff known for its high balanced composition of protein, energy, minerals and vitamins. Animals fed fish meal based diets perform better in terms of growth, products production and reproductive capabilities. But, high cost of fish meal is a major factor limiting its large scale use in animal feeding.  Purpose of the study: The aim of this study was to circumvent the high cost associated with the use of fish meal, in addition to this, based on the fatty-acids composition of fish and its by-products; the study also investigated potential of fish processing waste based diet for amino acids manipulation in sheep meat. Results and findings: A twelve (12) weeks growth trial was carried out to determine the effects of cassava bran plus fish processing waste supplement on body weight gain, blood composition and meat quality of sheep. Twelve growing lambs (10.50±3.27 kg) were randomly allotted to three Treatments; each fed dried cassava peel ad-libitum plus 0%, 1.5%, or 2.5% body weight equivalent quantity of cassava bran – fish processing waste supplement in a 84-days feeding trial. Treatment effects on sheep body weight gain, packed cells volume, lymphocytes, meat fatty-acids composition were significant (P<0.05). Sheep fed control diet had a negative body weight change (P<0.05). Sheep fed cassava bran – fish processing waste supplement at 2.5% body weight level had higher (P<0.05) body weight, nutrient composition and carcass yield. Conclusion: Our study established that cassava bran and fish processing waste are alternative feed resources for growing lambs since it has no negative impact on the health of the animals and it promote growth and performance of the animals. We identified that fish processing waste has potential to improve polyunsaturated fatty acids profile of growing lambs. As a result, we recommend further studies into the quality of sheep meat feeding fully on diet prepare from cassava bran and fish processing waste; also investigation into possibilities of incorporating fish processing waste into production of silage for growing lambs.

The study aimed to enhance the nutritive value and digestibility of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) using different treatments. Firstly: SCB was exposed to physical treatment (ground or un-ground) served as control and secondly to: chemical (5% urea, and 3% ammonia) or biological (10% chicken manure and 5% fungi (Pleurotus floridans)) treatments. The effects of the different treatments on the chemical composition, in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), in vitro gas production and in situ dry matter degradability of bagasse were studied. The results showed that different treatments increased significantly (P<0.05) crude protein (CP), ash content and IVDMD, while decreased neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) content. The CP content was increased from 0.95 to 6.32, 6.84, 7.63, 7.86,% for un-ground SCB treated with ammonia, urea, fungi, chicken manure respectively and from 1.19 to 6.67, 7.37,  7.92, 8.08% for ground SCB treated with ammonia, urea, chicken manure and fungi respectively. The highest decreased in NDF, ADF and ADL were recorded by fungi treatment for un-ground and ground of SCB compared with the other treatments. The greatest values of IVDMD were obtained by fungi treatments (70.42, 67.38%) followed by urea (66.28, 65.48%), ammonia (64.62, 62.82%), chicken manure (61.19, 61.45%) and control (35.28, 34.42%) for ground and un-ground treatments respectively. Chemical and biological treatments had a highly positive impact on gas production, readily fermentable fraction (a) and potential production (a+b) which were high for urea treatments than other treatments, while slow degradable fraction (b) was high for fungi treatment. Combination between physical and chemical or biological treatments associated with the increment of in situ degradability for slow degradable fraction (b) for ground fungi, potential degradable fraction (a+b) for urea and fungi ground.  The current study concluded that nutrients composition and IVDMD of SCB can be improved by physical and chemical (5%urea, 3%ammonia) or biological (10% chicken manure, 5% fungi) treatments with the superior effect for fungi treatment in term of CP and IVDMD.Â