Effect of Supplementation of Carica Papaya Seed Concentrate Diets on Performance and Faecal Egg Count of Village Managed Goats

Abstract

The effect of supplementation of Carica papaya seeds (CPS) concentrate diet on the
performance and faecal egg count of semi intensively village managed West African
dwarf goats aged 6 to 8 months old with average weight of 7.31 ± 0.35 kg was
evaluated in a 56 day feeding trial. Goats (n =16) were balanced for weight and
assigned into four groups in a completely randomized design to varying inclusion
levels of Carica papaya seeds at 0, 5, 10 and 15g/100gconcentrate. Results showed
high concentrations of crude protein (25.63%) and ether extract (29.16%) with a
tannin content of 0.72% in CPS. The intake of CPS concentrate differed (P <0.05)
across the treatment groups, with the least intake observed in goats fed 15% CPS.
The supplementation of CPS across dietary treatments improved (P<0.05) weight
gain and reduced faecal egg counts in goats with best weight gain (35.71g/day)and
percentage reduction in faecal egg count (77.27%) observed in goats supplemented
with 10gCPS concentrate diet. Considering the easy access of Carica papaya seeds
and its availability to local farmers who manage the majority of these goats, it was
concluded that the supplementation of goats' diets with 10gCPS in 100g concentrate
diet can play an important role not only in improving the growth rate but also
reducing faecal egg count thereby serving as a natural lowcost deworming herb.