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Nutritional and organoleptic properties of the African giant land snails (Archachatina marginata) were investigated using 96 healthy-looking growing snails maintained on broiler starter mash (BSM) as control, Talinium triangulare or waterleaf, Centrosema molle or centro leaves, and Carica papaya or pawpaw leaves for 16 weeks. This study was set up as a completely randomized design (CRD) with the snails allocated to 4 treatment groups (broiler starter mash (BSM) as control; Talinium triangulare leaves or waterleaf; Centrosema molle or centro leaves; Carica papaya or pawpaw leaves) and 3 replications each of 8 snails (giving a total of 24 snails per treatment group). At the end of the 16-week period, 4 snails were each harvested at random from the 3 replicates of each of the 4 treatments, sacrificed, processed and analyzed. Dry matter (DM), ash, fat or ether extract (EE) and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) were higher (P < 0.05) in the BSM group, while crude fibre (CF) was higher (P < 0.05) in centro leaves (34.2 g/100 g) and crude protein (CP) was higher in pawpaw leaves. Meancholesterol level was very low (0.003 ± 0.0006 mg/100 g) in the snail. Negative correlation (r = -0.99; P < 0.05) was recorded between diet CF and moisture content of the snail meat, while feed EE had a positive correlation (r = 0.98; P < 0.05) with snail cholesterol level. Based on tastiness, toughness and tenderness of the snails fried and stewed with spices or only steamed without spices, preference ranking in descending order gave pawpaw leaves > BSM = centro leaves > waterleaf. Thus, snails fed pawpaw leaves performed better than the control diet and could be exploited as a cheap feed resource for smallholder snail production in the humid tropics. Low fat and cholesterol levels in the African giant land snail make it very suitable for ameliorating human cardiovascular-related diseases.

Three sweet potato varieties (TIS-87/ 0087; TIS-8164; TIS-2532.OP.1.13) and Green panic (Panicum maximum) were evaluated for forage quality in a completely randomized design (CRD) using 12 sole-fed lactating White Fulani cows for 21 days, and 12 growing White Fulani and White Fulani x Brown Swiss calves for 77 days. Dry matter intake of cows ranged (p<0.05) between 131 g/Wkg(0.734) in TIS-87/0087 and 152 g/Wkg(0.734) in TIS-8164. Daily milk yields increased (p<0.05) in TIS-87/0087 (2%) and TIS-8164 (5%), but decreased in TIS-2532.OP.1.13 (5%) and Green panic (19%). Mean (+/-SEM) milk total solids (13.16+/-0.05 g/100 g), ash (0.78+/-0.01 g/100 g), protein (3.79+/-0.07 g/100 g), fat (3.98+/-0.06 g/100 g), and lactose (4.62+/-0.14 g/100 g) were significantly different (p<0.05) among treatments. The White Fulani x Brown Swiss calves recorded about 10, 25 and 29% higher birthweight, milk intake and bodyweight gains respectively, but about 3% lower dry matter intake than the purebred White Fulani calves. The rumen degradation rates were similar (p>0.05), while the rest rumen dry matter degradation characteristics were lowest (p< 0.05) for Green panic. Sweet potato forage could be used as sole feed or supplement for dry-season Green panic.

A study was conducted on the Teaching and Research Farm of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Nigeria to evaluate the nutritional suitability of four treatments, namely a commercial type broiler diet as compared with the commercial diet supplemented with either fresh centrosema (Centrosema molle), pueraria (Pueraria phaseoloides), or waterleaf (Talinium triangulare) leaves. These diets were fed to 120 day-old chicks (Lohmann Brown) over a 62-day period with treatments arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD). Chemical composition of broiler basal diets differed significantly from the three green foliage supplements. Dry matter (DM) of leaf meals ranged from 97.8 to 227.0 g kg -1 which was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than that of broiler basal diets which averaged 900 g kg -1 . Crude protein (CP) of leaf meals, however, ranged from 182.0 to 244.0 g kg -1 which was generally higher than basal diets (130-153 g kg -1 ). Similarly, crude fiber (CF) was highest for centrosema and pueraria leaves (330-342 g kg -1 ) and lowest in basal diets (164-222 g kg -1 ). However, ether extract (EE) and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) were significantly higher in broiler basal diets. Broiler daily and total feed intake over 62 days were similar between treatments and the control, averaging 112 g d -1 , while diets containing waterleaf were slightly (2.5%) lower. Total and daily bodyweight (BW) gains (2110 g and 34 g d -1 ) were also similar between treatments and the control, except that gains where the broiler diet was supplemented with centrosema foliage were 2.9% higher. A higher feed conversion ratio (FCR) and lower protein efficiency ratio (PER) for the diet supplemented with pueraria indicates a higher feed efficiency and better protein efficiency in the commercial control diet. Carcass characteristics with the commercial control diet included greater (P < 0.05) intestinal length and gizzard and spleen weights than with green foliage supplements. However, broiler carcass weight was generally lowest (P < 0.05) in the control group (64.3 g/100 g BW) and highest in the waterleaf group (71.3 g/100 g BW). Small differences in carcass weight among the treatments tested reduces the effectiveness of green feeds for practical and economic intensive broiler production. However, increased effectiveness of green feed supplementation for broiler production might likely be observed where broilers are managed on fenced rangelands planted to selected green feeds or in integrated systems where other livestock (rabbits, sheep, goats, etc.) are jointly reared. These results support the recommendation that leaf meals of green feeds should be incorporated into broiler diets in future studies.