Response of West African Dwarf sheep to a total mixed ration fed with different inclusion levels of Coconut oil

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding refined coconut oil (CO) to West African dwarf sheep (WAD) on dry matter intake, animal performance, diet digestibility and nitrogen metabolism. Twelve WAD sheep aged 12-18 months and weighing between 14 and 20kg were used for the study. They were randomly alloted to a total mixed ration containing different levels of coconut oil : D1 (0%), D2 (1.5%) and D3 (3.0%) in a completely randomised design. The experiment lasted 84 days. Dry matter intake was significantly (P<0.05) higher for D2 than D3 but similar for D1 and D3. The average daily gain (ADG) was similar for all the diets while feed conversion improved significantly (P<0.05) with coconut oil supplementation up to 1.5% above which there was a decline. There were no significant differences in the digestibility of all the nutrients except acid detergent fibre (ADF) that decreased with increasing coconut oil supplementation. Nitrogen balance (g/d) also decreased (P<0.05) with increased level of coconut oil supplementation. Based on this study, coconut oil could be used as a lipid supplement for WAD sheep. However, the level of supplementation should not be higher than 1.5% if a total mixed ration is fed.