ABSTRACT

Sixteen West African Dwarf goats weighing 6.4kg to 10kg were used to determine the performance characteristics of West African Dwarf goat fed differently processed Newbouldia laevis leaves. The goats were allotted randomly to four (4) treatment groups of (4) animals each, having two (2) replicates per treatment in a completely randomized design. Goats in T₁ were fed a concentrate diet with Panicum maximum (control diet); goats in T₂ were fed the concentrate with fresh Newbouldia laevis leaves; goats in T₃ were fed the concentrate and air-dried Newbouldia leaves, while goats in T₄ were fed the concentrate with sun-dried Newbouldia laevis leaves. The experiment lasted for eight (8) weeks. The animals were weighed weekly. Feed intake and weight changes were monitored. Data were analyzed using the one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), while the means were separated using Duncan’s multiple range test. Inclusion of Newbouldia leaves in the diet significantly reduced feed intake and feed conversion ratio in the goats. Values obtained for feed intake were 97±0.229 as against 0.57±0.996 for T₂, 0.32±0.60 for T₄, and 0.29±0.955 for T₃. Animals in T₁ gained weight while those inT₂, T₃ and T₄ lost weight progressively. The study showed that Newbouldia laevis leaves were unable to enhance the performance of West African Dwarf goats in terms of feed intake, feed conversion and weight gain.