The Effect of Supplements Bunaji Weaner Cattle with Dried Poultry Manure based Concentrate Diets

Abstract

Two expenenmentws ere conducted at the Livestock Teaching and Research Farm, University of Agriculture; Makurdi
to evaluate the efect of dried poultry manure (DPM) based concentrate diets on the performance of Bunaji weaner
cattlegrazing natural pasture. In experiment 1, ten Bunaji weaner cattle aged between ten and eleven months and
weighing approximately 11 7kg on the average, grazing natural pasture were fed DPM based concentrate diets for
90 days in a complete randomized design. The concentrate diets contained 0,17.8,33.7and 47.96 percent levels of
DPM and were designated treatments A, B, C, and D respectively. Animals on treatment E grazed natural pasture
only. There was a decreasing trend in body weight gain as the leuel of DPM in the diets increased. However, no
significant dzference (P>0.05) were observed in feed intake, body weight gain and feed eficiency among the
animals. The daily-weightgain ofthe animals that were supplemented with DPM based concentrate diets however
was sign$cantly (p<0.05) higher than those on natural pasture alone. The average daily weightgainsjbr treatments
A, B, C, D, and E were 0.65kg, 0.60kg, 0.48kg, 0.44kgand O.lOkg respectively.
In experiment 2, four male Bunaji weaner cattle with an average agkof 13.5 months and weight of 129.5kg
were used in a 4 x 4 latin square digestion trial to evaluate the utilization of the experimental diets. DM, CP, CF,
EE and NFE digestibilities were not sign$cantly dzfferent (P>0.05) among the treatments. There was however, a
decreasing trend in the digestibilities of DM, CP, CF, EE and NFE as the level of DPM in diets increased. DM
digestibility were 71.85,68.53,65.84 and 60.75 per cent for diets A, B, C and D; CP digestibilities were 80.14,
76.60,73.91 and 71.68 per cent for diets A, B, C, and D respectively. The CF digestibilities were 56.19,51.48,
49.02 and 45.04 percent; EE digestibilities were 87.81,86.35,85.50, and 85.95percent while the NFE digestibilities
were 79.26, 78.46,77.30 and 74.61 percent for diets A, B, C, and D respectively.
The nutritional and practical significance of these results are discussed.