ABSTRACT A study was undertaken at Sokoine University of Agriculture to investigate the influence of shank colour on egg quality traits and production performance. The study involved green shanked Indigenous (GSI) chickens, yellow shanked Indigenous (YSI) chickens and Rhode Island Red (RIR) genetic groups. The genetic groups were reared under the same environment and management. A total of 240 blood plasma samples were used in assessment of plasma cholesterol content while, 120 egg samples we...
ABSTRACT A study was conducted to assess possible risks of copper contamination in fish farmed in copper mining areas of Zambia. Nine fish farms were selected within and around Kitwe district for the study. The farms drew water from different sources – dam, river and spring. Five types of samples were sampled, i.e. soil, sediment, plant, fish and water at each farm. Three fish ponds were sampled at each farm. Copper determination in each sample was carried out using Atomic Absorption Spectr...
ABSTRACT This study was undertaken on-station at Magadu Research Farm, Sokoine University of Agriculture and on-farm at Changa and Kibwaya villages, Mkuyuni ward. The objective of the study was to evaluate growth performance of four tilapia species under culture conditions. The tilapia species used were Oreochromis niloticus, O. hornorum, O. ruvumae and O. jipe which were collected from Kingolwira Fish Farming Center, River Wami, River Ruvuma and Lake Jipe, respectively. Eight hapas (6m2 each...
ABSTRACT An experiment was conducted at the Poultry unit of Kizimbani Agriculture Training Institute in Zanzibar to evaluate the effect of seaweed as mineral source in the growth performance of broiler chickens and carcass characteristics. Two hundred and forty (240) broiler chickens were fed four dietary treatments (T1, T2, T3 and T4), containing 0, 1, 1.5 and 2% seaweeds, from 8 - 49 days of age. Feed intake was measured daily while live weight was measured on a weekly basis. After seven we...
ABSTRACT Milk is important as a valuable diet, but due to its nutritional value and perishable product it serves as an ideal medium for growth of various microorganisms under suitable conditions, hence it is a staple food in epidemiology linked to zoonotic pathogens. This study was carried out in two districts in Tanga region (Northern Tanzania) to estimate microbial load, isolate selected pathogens and establish their possible sources or entry along the milk value chain. A total of 114 respo...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted in Chalinze division in Bagamoyo District to assess and evaluate the condition of pastoral communal grazing area in yield, botanical composition of herbaceous plant species as well as nutritive value. Yield forage samples were collected using 0.25m2 metal quadrat after which chemical composition, dry matter yield (DMY) and in vitro dry matter digestibility (INVDMD) were analyzed. Line Interception Method was used to estimate forage species distribution. Woody...
ABSTRACT This study investigated the quality of selected popular poultry feeds available in Nigerian poultry feed market, using growth performance and carcass quality of broiler chickens as indices. Day old broiler chicks were fed with diets obtained from four different commercial feed manufacturers (coded FTE,GFE,PFE and SFE to protect the manufacturers) and control diet (formulated in conformity with recommended nutrient requirements for broiler chickens) over an eight week trial period .
ABSTRACT Microbial flora and load, Cholesterol levels and sensory quality of attributes of hard-boiled commercial eggs being hawked along Lagos-Horm Road were monitored in this study. The bacteria isolated from the eggs include; Achromobacter sp. and Staphylococcous aureus. While the eggs sampled from Ibadan, Ogbomoso and Ilorin had lower microbial load (20 - 33 X 104 CFU/g). On the average a 56g egg was found to contain 235mg Cholesterol. The results of sensory quality evaluation showed that...
Abstract The worldwide increase in aquaculture production and the decrease of wild fish stocks has made the replacement of fish oil (FO) in aquafeed industry a priority. Therefore, the use of terrestrial animal fats and vegetable oils, which has lower cost and larger supplies, may be good as substitute for FO. This study investigate the effects of total replacement of FO by two terrestrial animal fats (pork lard and poultry fat) and three vegetable oils (palm kernel oil, shea butter oil and s...
Abstract One of the major problems facing aquaculture is the inadequate supply of fish oil mostly used for fish feed man- ufacturing. The continued growth in aquaculture production cannot depend on this finite feed resources, therefore, it is imperative that cheap and readily available substitutes that do not compromise fish growth and fillet quality be found. To achieve this, a 12-week feeding trial with Heterobranchus longifilis fed diets differing in lipid source was conducted. Diets were ...
Abstract As the search for alternative sources of energy for non ruminants continues, this review was undertaken to examine the potential value of cassava (Manihot utilissima Pohl.), sweet potato (Ipomea batatas Poir.), cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium Schott.) and their by-products as dietary supplements for non ruminants. Studies on these roots and tubers showed that, on a dry-weight basis, contained 2.0 – 7.9% crude protein, 0.3 – 3.1% crude fibre and 72.4 – 77.9% starch. The practi...
ABSTRACT In the context of the prevailing trend towards more natural products, there seems to be an increasing preference for raw milk consumption as raw milk is associated with several perceived health benefits that are believed to be destroyed upon heating. However, many human pathogens can be isolated from raw cow’s milk and these pathogens vary from campylobacter to Escherichia coli. The aim of this review is to highlight the risk and benefits related to the consumption of raw and paste...
ABSTRACT A total of seven (7) Bunaji calves were used to study the relationship between body weight and linear body measurements at different phases of growth (phase 1, 1-4weeks, phase 2, 5-8weeks, phase 3, 9-12weeks), estimate growth rate and predict body weight from linear body measurements of body length (BL), body circumference (BC), neck length (NL), neck circumference (NC), girth circumference (GC), height at wither (HW), tail length (TL) and ear length (EL). The results showed that wei...
A 12-week study was conducted to determine the effect of graded levels of raw tallow seed meal (RTSM) on growth performance, haematological and biochemical parameters and organoleptic qualities of growing rabbits. Five experimental diets were compounded to contain 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% RTSM replacing the palm kernel cake weight for the weight designated as T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively. Forty-five (45) weaned rabbits between 5 and 6 weeks with an average body weight ranging from 500 to...
ABSTRACT The study was conducted from 15th April to 30th June 2019 in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria, with the objectives of assessment of ticks’ infestation and its effects in small ruminants’ production and identifying the major risk factors such as species, sex, age and body conditioned scored. A total of 320 small ruminants were sampled, out of which 67.19% of the animals (83.8% sheep and 50.6% goats) were found to be infested with one or more of tick species. ...