Influence of cassava bran plus fish processing waste supplement on growth performance characteristics of sheep fed cassava peel

Abstract

Fish meal has been acknowledged to cause improvement in livestock products quality. An alternative to conventional fish meal could be found in fish processing waste. Fish meal is a recognized animal feedstuff known for its high balanced composition of protein, energy, minerals and vitamins. Animals fed fish meal based diets perform better in terms of growth, products production and reproductive capabilities. But, high cost of fish meal is a major factor limiting its large scale use in animal feeding. The aim of this study was to circumvent the high cost associated with the use of fish meal, in addition to this, based on the fatty-acids composition of fish and its by-products; the study also investigated potential of fish processing waste based diet for amino acids manipulation in sheep meat. A twelve (12) weeks growth trial was carried out to determine the effects of cassava bran plus fish processing waste supplement on body weight gain, blood composition and meat quality of sheep. Twelve growing lambs (10.50±3.27 kg) were randomly allotted to three Treatments; each fed dried cassava peel ad-libitum plus 0%, 1.5%, or 2.5% body weight equivalent quantity of cassava bran – fish processing waste supplement in a 84-days feeding trial. Treatment effects on sheep body weight gain, packed cells volume, lymphocytes, meat fatty-acids composition were significant (P<0.05). Sheep fed control diet had a negative body weight change (P<0.05). Sheep fed cassava bran – fish processing waste supplement at 2.5% body weight level had higher (P<0.05) body weight, nutrient composition and carcass yield. Our study established that cassava bran and fish processing waste are alternative feed resources for growing lambs since it has no negative impact on the health of the animals and it promote growth and performance of the animals. We identified that fish processing waste has potential to improve polyunsaturated fatty acids profile of growing lambs.  As a result, we recommend further studies into the quality of sheep meat feeding fully on diet prepare from cassava bran and fish processing waste; also investigation into possibilities of incorporating: Cassava bran, fish processing waste, performance characteristics, meat nutrients composition.