Nutritional Evaluation of Three Browse Species Commonly Fed to Small Ruminants by Farmers in the Accra Plains of Ghana

Abstract

Quantitative survey was carried out in five purposely selected districts in the Accra Plains of Ghana using focused group discussions and individual interviews to evaluate and document the existing farming practices, opportunities and constraints among smallholder farmers with particular interest on the probable animal feed resources and cyclical gaps with respect to sheep and goat production in study 1. Also the effect of supplementary feed packages based on Samanea saman, Acacia auriculiformis and Ficus exasperata browse species and cassava peels on feed intake, digestibility, growth and physiology of the West African Dwarf sheep fed on a basal diet of Andropogon gayanus hay were evaluated in study 2. Livestock production constraints affecting the smallholders in study 1 were poor housing, high mortality rates due to diseases and insufficient feed especially in the dry season and theft. Feed resources identified in the study areas suitable for livestock farming were wastes from crops and some by-products like plantain and cassava peels, corn mill wastes, maize bran and rice bran. Also, browse species such as Samanea saman, Acacia auriculiformis, Ficus exasperata, Gliricidia sepium and magnifera indica among others were fed to small ruminants in the study areas. Feedstuffs were more accessible to ruminants after crop harvest and feed shortage gap was identified during the dry season. In study 2, Samanea leaf meal and cassava peel meal based diets were more acceptable (p < 0.05) to the West African Dwarf sheep and improved dry matter intakes than the Acacia and Ficus leaf meal based supplements. Sheep fed the Samanea leaf meal based supplement had the highest dry matter, crude protein and organic matter digestibilities (p < 0.05) than those on the Acacia, Ficus and Cassava peel meal based supplements. The three browse species and the cassava peel meal based supplements did not significantly (p < 0.05) affect most of the haematological (Hb, PCV, RBC, WBC) and blood biochemical indices measured (Glucose, Total protein, Albumin, Globulin, Cholesterol, and Urea). The values were within the normal ranges reported for sheep thus indicating no adverse influence on the health and physiology of the sheep. The results suggest feed supplementation packages based on Samanea, Acacia, Ficus and Cassava peels could be fed to sheep by small ruminant farmers in the Accra Plains to improve performance of sheep fed low quality basal diet