Elephant grass silage as dry season feed for goats: effect of cassava peel inclusion on performance and digestibility of the mixture

Abstract

In an effort to provide quality feed for ruminants during the dry season, elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) was ensiled with varying proportions of cassava peel (0, 10, 30 and 50%, on wet basis). The intake, growth rate and feed conversion ratio of sixteen Red Sokoto goats penned individually were determined in 84 days while digestibility of the silage mixtures was measured using twelve goats inside metabolic cages. The dry matter (DM) intake and growth rate of the goats increased significantly (p < 0.05) as proportion of cassava peel in the silage increased while FCR reduced. The DM intake of goats in this study was 2.60, 2.83, 3.02 and 3.94% of body weight (BW); growth rate was 30.4, 40.8, 62.3 and 84.6 g/day; and FCR, 11.51, 9.08, 6.98 and 5.68 for 0, 10, 30 and 50% inclusion levels of cassava peel in the grass silage respectively. The DM and crude protein (CP) digestibility of the silage increased with higher inclusion of cassava peel in the grass silage.  DM digestibility was 54.7, 56.7, 64.3 and 68.0% while CP digestibility was 44.0, 47.7, 52.7 and 59.0% for grass silage with cassava peel inclusion of 0, 10, 30 and 50% respectively. These results indicate that addition of cassava peel to elephant grass improved the nutritive value the ensiled mixture, and enhanced dry matter intake and growth of Red Sokoto goats fed elephant grass silage.