Authors: Oladapo Ayokunle Fasae, I.F. Adu, A.B.J. Aina
Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems,Vol. 15, No 3 (2012)
Abstract
The recent surge in the production of cassava and maize in Nigeria has generated a surplus of leaves which if adequately utilized could alleviate the feed shortage problem encountered by smallholder in sheep production as a result of seasonal reduction in feed supply and reduced pasture quality. An experiment was conducted with West African Dwarf yearling rams to investigate the feeding value of defoliated cassava leaves (CL) and maize leaves (ML) at different ratios (CL/ML) in the diets; 100:0 (solely ML); 25: 75; 50: 50; 75: 25; and 0:100 (solely CL). The experiment that lasted for 105 days involved twenty (20) rams in a completely randomized design used to evaluate the dry matter (DM) intake, weight gain, nutrient digestibility and nitrogen utilization as well as the effect of the diets on the haematological profile of the rams. Results showed that DM intake and digestibility of nutrients were similar in the mixed forage diets and significantly (P