Nutrient digestibility of West African Dwarf sheep fed graded levels of dried pineapple waste

This study investigated the nutrient digestibility of West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep fed graded levels of dried pineapple waste (DPW). Twenty 5-7 months old WAD sheep of both sexes, weighing 11.84±0.28kg, were randomly allotted to four treatments of graded levels of dried pineapple waste (Control diet (CD), 15% DPW, 30% DPW and 45% DPW diets) with five animals per treatment in a completely randomized design. Proximate components were determined. Performance characteristics and nutrient digestibility parameter of the WAD sheep were evaluated. Data obtained were statistically analyzed with the General Linear Model of SAS (2008). There were no significant differences (P>0.05) in the mean daily dry matter intake (DMI g/day), average daily weight gain and apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, ether extract, nitrogen free extract and total digestible nutrient (P>0.05) among the experimental sheep. The apparent digestibility coefficient of the crude protein, crude fibre and ash were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the level of DPW in the diet. Digestibility of crude protein (74.98% and 77.06%) for sheep fed 30% DPW and CD were significantly higher than (65.21% and 54.10%) for 15% DPW and 45% DPW, respectively. Digestibility of crude fibre for sheep fed 45% DPW was significantly (P<0.50) lower than others. The study concluded that pineapple waste can be included in the diets of (WAD) sheep up to 45% without any deleterious effect on the performance and nutrient digestibility of WAD sheep.