THE EFFECT OF SUPPLEMENTATION WITH FICUS LEAVES ON THE UTILIZATION OFCASSAVA PEELS BY SHEEP

The objectives of this experiment were to determine the effects of dri ed Ficus exasperata leaves supplementation on voluntary feed intake, d igestibility of nutrients and liveweight gain of sheep given ad libitu m access to dried cassava peels. A total of 48 Djallonke wethers and e we lambs (avg. wt 13.5 kg +/- 1.2 kg), housed individually and given a d libitum access to dried cassava peels were randomly allocated to one of six dietary treatments comprising 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 g d (-1) of dried F. exasperata leaves. Supplementation increased (P<0.05) daily dry matter (DM) intake from 44.0 g kg(-1) LW0.75 for animals th at received no supplement to 81.2 g kg(-1) LW0.75 for animals that rec eived 250 g d(-1) of supplement. Digestibility coefficients of DM, org anic matter and acid detergent fibre in the diets were depressed (P<0. 05) as a result of supplementation. However, intake of the basal diet increased (P < 0.05) from 44.0 g kg(-1) LW0.75 d(-1) for control anima ls, to 55.1 g kg(-1) LW0.75 d(-1) for animals that received 200 g d(-1 ) of supplement. Animals which received 250 g d(-1) of leaves had the fastest growth rates (53.6 g d(-1)) followed by those that received 20 0 and 150 g d(-1) (P<0.05). Although the supplement was less digestibl e than the basal feed, it promoted a higher DM intake and growth rate, presumably due to the supply of nitrogen and other nutrients. (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.