No abstract

Chicken production remains the foremost endeavor in the Nigerian livestock industry. However, disease incidence has been a major constraint on the growth of this subsector. This study assessed health management practices and disease incidence in smallholder chicken production enterprise in Southwest Nigeria using data from a farm survey of 240 farmers selected using a multistage sampling technique from 5 of 6 states in Southwest Nigeria. The study showed that vaccination was given by 96.8% of the famers, 97.8% dewormed their chickens, and 92.9% disinfected the coops against diseases. However, 37% of the farmers regularly consulted veterinarians, 25.7% consulted them during disease outbreaks, and 34.2% occasionally consulted veterinarians. Infectious bursal disease (IBD), coccidiosis, and chronic respiratory disease (CRD) were the major diseases reported by 17.1%, 12.9%, and 7.1% of the farmers, respectively. Mortality rate was 37.8%, although this varied with disease. However, there was a growth of 157.4% in stock size between the establishment of the farms and the survey period.

Thirty six (36) growing crossbred (Large White X Landrace) pigs (16.14±0.67kg) were used to determine the effect of replacing maize by palm kernel cake (PKC) supplemented with two levels of cassava flour waste (CFW) on the chemical composition of the diets, performance, economy of the production, serum metabolites and hematological values of the growing pigs. Two levels of CFW (20%PKC+10%CFW and 20%PKC+20%CFW) were included in the diets of growing pigs to replace 40% maize inclusion on a weight to weight basis in the 42-day feeding trial. The chemical composition of the diets revealed the increase of 74.4-77.6% in the crude fibre content over the control diet with a resultant decrease 10.9-11.7% in the energy concentrations in the test diets. The average daily weight gains, feed efficiency and protein utilization were comparable between the treatment groups. The cost of feed / kg live weight of pigs reduced (P<0.05) significantly at the two levels of supplementation resulting in comparable economic gains at the two levels of replacement. The serum and hematological indices were similar between the groups, but groups differed for serum urea N and creatinine values. PKC supplemented with CFW can be efficiently utilized as energy source by growing pigs without depressing performance in an attempt to reduce the cost of feeding.Key words: Agro-industrial by-product, cost effective feeding, pig performance, tropical pig production Farelo de palmiste suplementado com farelo residual de mandioca como fonte de energia para suínos RES UMOTrinta e seis suínos (Large White x Landrace) com peso vivo de 16,14±0,67 kg foram utilizados para determinar o efeito da substituição do milho pelo farelo de palmiste (PKC) suplementado com dois níveis de farelo residual de mandioca (CFW) sobre a composição química das dietas, desempenho, economia da produção, metabolitos do soro e valores hematológicos. Dois níveis de CFW (20%PKC+10%CFW e 20%PKC+20%CFW) foram incluídos nas dietas animais para substituir peso a peso a inclusão do milho em 40% num experimento de 42 dias. A composição química das dietas evidenciou aumento de 74,4-77,6 % no teor de fibra bruta em relação à dieta controle, com uma diminuição equivalente em 10,9-11,7 % na concentração de energia nas dietas em avaliação. O ganho de peso médio diário, a eficiência da alimentação e a utilização da proteína foram equivalentes entre os tratamentos. O custo da alimentação/quilograma de peso vivo dos suínos reduziu-se (P<0,05) significativamente nas dietas alternativas, tendo por resultado ganhos econômicos comparáveis entre os dois níveis de substituição. Os valores para o soro e os índices hematológicos foram similares entre os tratamentos, mas os tratamentos diferiram quanto nitrogênio sob forma de uréia presente no soro e os valores da creatinina. PKC suplementado com o CFW pode eficientemente ser utilizado como a fonte de energia na produção de suínos sem comprometimento do desempenho e desta forma possibilitando a redução no custo da alimentação.