DRY MATTER AND PROTEIN DEGRADABILITIES OF SOME FEED INGREDIENTS SOLD IN ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

A study was carried out to determine the chemical composition and evaluate the dry matter and crude protein degradabilities of some commercial feed ingredients sold in Abeokuta, Nigeria, viz corn offal, brewers dried grain, soybean meal, wheat offal, groundnut meal and maize meal. The feed samples as obtained from different sources were incubated in triplicates for 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 hours in 3 rumen-fistulated goats. The incubation was used to estimate the in sacco dry matter (DM) and N degradation characteristics. The dry matter contents of the feedstuffs ranged from 799.3 – 956.0 g/kg. All the feedstuffs recorded low crude protein contents and high washing loss at 0 hour. They recorded more than 70% dry matter degradability at 48 hours, which implied that they were all highly degradable in the rumen. Feeding these feedstuffs in large quantities terminants may lead to diarrhea and bloat due to the accumulation of methane and ammonia gases in the rumen. However, their incorporation into high fibre diets may be advantageous in supplying rumen degradable nutrients to complement the undegradable dietary nutrients from fibrous feeds.Â