ABSTRACT This study which lasted for 12 weeks investigated the effects of garlic and probiotics additives in the diets of grower pigs. A total of sixteen 16 weeks old grower pigs were randomly assigned to four treatments. Each treatment had 2 replicates of 2 pigs per replicate that were housed in a previously cleaned and disinfected pen measuring 3.2m x2.7m with concrete floor, feeding trough and water drinker. Four treatment diets (T1, T2, T3, and T4) were used in a 2x2 factorial arran...
ABSTRACT Farm level post harvest milk losses (PHL) in smallholder and pastoral milking herds that occur at milking, pooling, evening storage or at the farm gate delivery may be associated with many farm practices. This study tested the hypotheses that PHL results from milk hygiene practices, that feeding practices influence production and quality of milk, and that milk market outlets influence milk hygiene and PHL. Data was obtained in cross sectional survey, on-farm milk and feed sampling fo...
ABSTRACT Nutrition influences postpartum ovarian activity but the effects of pre and postpartum feeding on metabolte and hormonal changes and their subsequent influence on reproductive performance remains unclear. This study attempted to explain effects of nutrition on these changes and their ultimate impact on reproductive performance of lactating cows. Forty in-calf cows comprising 20 Friesians and 20 Sahiwals were randomly assigned to 5 dietary groups of 4 cows per breed. Upon calving, cow...
ABSTRACT Dairy ration formulation in Kenya is currently based on the singular objective of least cost (LCF) that only considers cost to the economic advantage of feed millers. The interest of dairy producers is milk profit above feed costs while regulatory authorities are interested in feed quality standards and environmental health. Industry stakeholder interests on feed processing and utilisation and critical feed formulation goals present challenges to sustainable dairy production. To bet...
ABSTRACT Pastoral camel management strategies in northern Kenya, characterised by free herd mobility that enables efficient utilisation of rangeland resources, is slowly but progressively adopting restricted camel foraging within the vicinity of urban milk market outlets as seen in Isiolo town. The emerging peri-urban camel production system (PUCPS) has potential livelihood benefits to households but there are emerging pressures that can impede its sustained development and benefits. Key eme...
ABSTRACT Parasites are universal and are associated with many living organisms making them a vital component of any ecosystem. Fish parasites lead to a decline in market value of infected fish and may lead to mortalities in high intensities. Some parasites are zoonotic. Anthropogenic activities within the riparian and catchment areas of aquatic systems that lead to deterioration of water quality possibly increase the incidences of parasitic infections. Although fish parasites have been studie...
ABSTRACT Indigenous chicken (IC) are the most common poultry in developing world, found in almost every homestead and constitute over 89% of total chicken populations in Kenya. Contributions of IC to economy include source of income, food security and nutrition. The IC productivity is compromised by diseases that contribute to over 50% of economic losses. This study was undertaken to contribute to improved productivity of indigenous chicken (IC) of Kenya through sustainable breeding for di...
ABSTRACT Fish diseases and parasitic infections have been recognized as detrimental and limiting factors in the development of capture fisheries and aquaculture. Research on monogeneans parasitizing fish from Lake Naivasha, Kenya is scanty. This study aimed to identify the species of monogenean parasites of some cichlid and cyprinid fish in Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Fifty specimens of each fish species comprising: Oreochromis niloticus, O. leucostictus, Tilapia zillii and Barbus paludinosus were ...
ABSTRACT Smallholder pig production in Kenya is a popular livelihood strategy but is faced with serious challenges, key among them being high cost and poor quality of feeds and weak value chain governance which result in high enterprise costs. To minimise losses, smallholders use locally available alternative feed resources (AFR) which coud be impacting negatively on performance. This study investigated feeding decisions, bio-economic benefits of using alternative feed resources (AFR), benefi...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of Vitamin E and Selenium on the reproductive performance of rabbit Does and Kits. Four groups of mixed breeds of rabbits (Newzealand white, Dutch black, and Chinchilla) 8-9 months old with an average body weight of 1.98±0.6kg were considered in the experiment. Each group was made up of 3does and a buck to serve them. All the bucks were fed the basal diet during the study alongside group 1 Does which served ...
Abstract Two experiments were conducted at the piggery unit of the Department of Animal Science Farm, University of Nigeria, Nsukka from June 2010 – September 2011, to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with vitamins E and C on the productive performance of pigs. The first experiment assessed the effect of dietary combinations of different levels of vitamins E and C on the growth performance of weaner pigs. Thirty six, Eight weeks old weaner gilts were used for this trial. The...
Abstract Background We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the Ehrlichia Ruminantium test (Post Mortem vs Direct Brain Smear) to screen for Heartwater in Masvingo District. Methods Between July 2016 and July 2017, cattle and goat carcasses were screened for heartwater (tick abundance, characteristic post mortem lesions and direct brain smear for microscopy). Sensitivity and specificity and predictive values of E Ruminantium were calculated using microscopy results as our gold standard. Ep...
ABSTRACT Predators affect aquaculture by feeding on fish, causing injuries and spreading diseases. Questionnaires were administered to 137 fish farmers in Kirinyaga County assessing farming practices, constraints, type of predators and extent of predation experienced by fish farmers. Prevalence of parasites was evaluated in 289 fish (203 tilapia, 86 catfish) and 50 piscivorous birds in the region. Tilapia, catfish and ornamental fish were the main species of fish farmed. Overgrown vegetation,...
ABSTRACT This experiment was conducted to determine the best time to introduce finisher diets in the humid tropics. Four treatments (3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th week) were tried in this study that lasted for 9 weeks. A total of one hundred and eighty birds were used for the experiment. The birds were randomnly assigned into 4 treatments that were replicated three times with 15 birds in each replicate. The following were measured, growth performance, carcass quality and cost benefit analysis. On gr...
ABSTRACT A sixty three (63) day experiment was carried out to bio-appraise different non-antibiotic growth enhancers using one hundred and twenty day-old broiler chicks (DOC). The DOC were randomly assigned to four treatments of 30 birds per group, each with three replications (10 birds per replicate), in a completely randomized design (CRD). T1 served as the control (CT), whereas T2, T3 and T4 had commercially procured ElRox (EX), PolaMix (PX) and MaxiGrowth (MX) growth promoters incorporate...