Converting Feed Waste to Wealth: Evaluation of Cabbage Waste Usage as Supplementation to Binary Mixtures of Crop Residues Iin Ruminant Nutrition

In this study, cabbage waste (CW) in combination with wheat offal (WO) and cassava peel (CP) was evaluated as ruminant feed resource, through the in vitro gas production technique. Five feed samples were formulated - T1: 0% CW+70% WO+30% CP, T2: 10% CW+60% WO+30% CP, T3: 20% CW+ 50% WO+30% CP, T4: 30% CW+40% WO+30% CP and T5: 40% CW+30% WO+30% CP. Rumen liquor was collected from Yankassa rams (n=5) using the stomach tube and incubated at 39±10C using standard procedures. Data on proximate composition and in vitro gas production were determined using standard procedures, and were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at α0.05. Dry matter values were not significantly affected by CW inclusion. The crude protein observed in T1 (14.77±0.25) and T2 (14.69±0.46) were significantly higher compared to other treatments. Lower crude fibre were observed in T1 (19.67±0.49) and T2 (19.76±0.64). However, T2 (6.57±0.17) had the lowest ash content. Metabolizable energy ranged from 7.02±0.26 to 7.72±0.86 MJ/kg. Organic matter digestibility and short chain fatty acids concentrations were not significantly affected by varying levels of CW. Hence, cabbage waste supplementation did not compromise rumen integrity and ruminant farmers can harness its potentials during scarcity of green forages.