METHANE PRODUCTION AND IN VITRO DRY MATTER DIGESTIBILITY OF WAD SHEEP FED GRADED MORINGA LEAF MEAL BASED DIETS


ABSTRACT

This study carried out in Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta evaluates the feeding value of M. oleifera leaf meal-based (MOLM) concentrate as supplement for West African dwarf (WAD) sheep production. Five dietary concentrates were formulated with M. oleifera included at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of concentrate diet and chemical composition of the diets was determined using 25 WAD sheep (r=5). Results showed that diet with 20% MOLM inclusion had the highest CP content (21.60%), ash (18.75%), As the level of inclusion increased from 0 - 20% MOLM, there was a decrease in methane production from 13.00 - 8.50 mL/200 mg DM. The highest metabolizable energy (ME) (24.53 MJ/kg DM) was obtained at 20% MOLM inclusion whereas highest (p