ACCEPTABILITY OF DIET CONTAINING VARYING LEVELS OF BIOCHARCOAL AND GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF WEST AFRICAN DWARF RAMS
Abstract
This study investigated the acceptability, growth performance and nutrient digestibility of West African dwarf (WAD) rams fed diets containing varying levels of bio charcoal. A total of fifteen (15) WAD rams were allotted into five (5) dietary treatments in a completely randomized design. Diets were formulated with varying levels of bio charcoal at 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% inclusion levels as treatments 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. The bio charcoal was derived from chicken manure through pyrolysis at 300–350 °C temperature. Parameters determined for acceptability are two indices Coefficient of Preference (CoP) and Percentage Preference (PP). Growth performance indices included initial weight, final weight, daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR), while the proximate and fibre fractions digestibility were also determined. The cafeteria method was used in determining acceptability. Animals were allotted into metabolic cages after normal feeding trials. Results showed that the weight gain (7.93–9.03 kg) and daily weight gain (74.44–101.58g/day) were significantly (P
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