http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/3 Agriculture 2026-04-14T23:00:57Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2425 GROWTH, BEHAVIOURAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RESPONSES OF PIGS TO WEANING AND INTERMITTENT SUCKLING REGIMES BANKOLE, Temitope Olaoluwa Early weaning of piglets is gaining attention worldwide. Although, this encourages quick rebreeding of the sow, it subjects piglets to weaning stress. However, intermittent suckling makes weaning less-stressful for piglets but the effect on behaviour and performance of piglets and the sow has not been well documented. Therefore, different weaning and intermittent suckling regimes were assessed on piglet growth, behaviour, stress response and reproductive performance of sows. Eighteen newly farrowed sows (Large white×Landrace), each with four piglets aged 1-3 days were randomly allotted to different weaning regimes: four weeks (T1), six weeks (T2) and eight weeks (T3) at 6 replicates/treatment, in a completely randomised design. In another study, sixteen newly farrowed sows, each with four piglets aged 1-3 days were randomly allotted to four treatments: S1 (Continuous suckling), S2 (4 hours separation/day), S3 (8 hours separation/day) and S4 (12 hours separation/day) at 4 replicates/treatment, during the last two weeks of the six weeks suckling period. The sow and piglets were evaluated at pre-weaning and post-weaning phases for weightchange (kg), Feed-intake (kg), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), stress (serum corticosterone level [ng/mL] assayed for two weeks using standard procedure), behaviour (feeding and aggression (%) which were monitored from 08:00-12:00 hours for 10 days using CCTV). The sows‟ reproductive indices (weaning-to-oestrus interval (days) and conception rate (%) were monitored. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at α0.05. Weight-loss in sows in T2 (-6.25±0.33) and T1 (-5.00±1.41) were significantly lower than T3 (-10.00±1.58). The FCR of weaners in T2 (2.23±0.15) and T3 (2.22±0.10) were significantly lower than T1 (2.42±0.09). Corticosterone of weaners in T2 and T3 on day 4 (48.60±3.90 and 48.31±3.95) and day 7 (46.45±6.67and 46.96±2.36) were significantly lower than T1 (55.83±5.28 and 54.25±1.66), respectively. Feeding behaviour ranged from 41.7 (T1) to 70.3% (T3), while aggressive behaviour ranged from 0.5 (T3) to 9.2% (T1). Weaning-to-oestrus interval in sows at 7.00±1.22 (T2) and 6.00±0.71 (T1) were significantly lower than 10.00±1.58 (T3), while percentage conception ranged from 83.3 (T3) to 100.0% (T1). Piglets in S1 had significantly lower feed-intake and higher weight-gain (0.90±0.15 and 4.86±0.30) compared to S3 (2.20±0.33 and 4.17±0.15) and S4 (2.50±0.31 and 4.14±0.19), respectively. The FCR of weaners in S3 (2.83±0.16), S2 (2.87±0.22), and S4 (2.84±0.20) were significantly lower than S1 (2.99±0.26). Weight loss in sows significantly varied from -3.21±0.60 (S4) to -5.07±0.70 (S1). Corticosterone of piglets in S4 (59.43±0.66) was significantly higher than S3 (57.74±0.67), S2 (57.44±0.65) and S1 (43.86±0.76) on day 4, while corticosterone of weaners in S3 (47.02±1.47), S2 (50.16±1.53) and S4 (45.08±0.84) were significantly lower than S1 (54.66±2.08) on day 4. Feeding behaviour of weaners ranged from 8.2 (S1) to 51.5% (S4), while aggressive behaviour ranged from 0.0 (S4) to 11.8% (S1). Weaning-to-oestrus interval in sows in S3 (4.00±0.71) and S4 (4.00±0.00) were significantly lower than S1 (7.00±1.00) and S2 (6.00±0.71). Weaning at six weeks, with 8-hour daily separation in the last 14 days, improved piglets‟ post-weaning growth and sows‟ weaning-to-oestrus interval. It also reduced aggression and stress in weaned pigs. 2023-07-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2385 EFFECT OF CREDIT UTILIZATION ON PROFITABILITY OF COMMERCIAL POULTRY PRODUCTION IN SOUTH-WESTERN, NIGERIA OYEDIJI, Beatrice Poultry enterprise is capital intensive; hence, most commercial poultry farmers rely on credit facilities to sustain their businesses. Previous studies established that access to credit enabled farmers’ participation in commercial poultry production. However, information on how the use of credit affects profitability of commercial poultry production is scanty. Therefore, the effect of credit utilisation on the profitability of poultry production in Southwestern Nigeria was investigated. A four-stage sampling procedure was used. Ogun, Oyo and Ondo states were randomly selected; and three Local Government Areas (LGAs) in each state based on prevalence of commercial poultry entrepreneurs. Cluster sampling technique was used to select two communities where poultry enterprises huddled in the selected LGAs. Ten percent of the entire poultry farmers were selected to give a total of 250 respondents. Data were collected using interview schedule on respondents’ socio-economic and enterprise characteristics (age, education, occupation, type of enterprise and management practice), access to credit facilities, attitude towards use of credit and utilisation of credits, constraints to utilisation of credit and profitability of commercial poultry farming. The Benefit cost ratio was used to estimate profitability. Indices of credit accessibility (low: 0.00-4.37; high: 4.38-22.00), credit utilisation (low: 0.00-10.42; high: 10.43-19.00), attitude towards use of credit for poultry enterprise (unfavourable: 36.00-63.70; favourable: 63.80-84.00) and profitability (low; ₦3,818,278.29 - ₦12,550,288.00; high; ₦12,550,289.00-₦86,427,167.00) were generated. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square, Pearson product moment correlation and ANOVA at α0.05. Most respondents were male (74.8%). Age and years of formal education were 42.56±9.84 and 17±9.26 years, respectively. More than half (52.8%) engaged in poultry production as their primary occupation, 54.4% combined egg and meat production and 63.6% used battery cage system. Credit was mostly accessed from cooperative societies (=1.19) and family/friends (=1.07). Sixty two percent of respondents had favourable attitude towards the use of credit in their enterprises while access to credit facilities (78.60%) and credit utilization (67.2%) were low among them. High interest rates and high risk associated with poultry enterprise ranked highest as constraints to use of credit in poultry enterprise. The net profit from poultry production was ₦1,766,230.95±809,396.46 and profitability was high among 67.8% of the respondents. Size of enterprise (r=0.15), years of farming experience (r=0.29), access to credit facilities (r=0.14), number of employees (r=0.31) and credit utilisation (r=0.085) correlated significantly to profitability of commercial poultry enterprise. Farmers differed significantly in their profitability depending on their level of credit utilisation, type of poultry enterprise and location. Profitability was significantly higher among high credit users (₦16,849,577.83±44,267,049.48) than low credit users (₦6,740,704.90±20,671,384.92). Combined Meat and egg producers had higher profitability (₦18,576,837.38±44,106,264.29) than meat only (₦15,639,874.67±47,308,877.27) and egg only producers (₦8,002,758.70±29,298,672.40). Profitability was higher in Ogun (₦18,792,463.78±23,062,122.53) than Oyo (₦15,564,957.58±46,957,103.9915) and Ondo (₦10,177,560.11±53,875,752.40) states. Credit utilisation enhanced the profitability of commercial poultry enterprise in Southwestern Nigeria. Profitability was highest in Ogun state and among poultry farmers who combined egg and meat production in their enterprise. 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2384 YIELD AND NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF FOUR GRASSES INTERPLANTED WITH LABLAB (Lablab purpureus L.) FOR WEST AFRICAN DWARF GOATS TAIWO, Titilola Olufisayo Natural grasslands which supply the bulk of ruminant feeds are characterised by low yield and lignified forage. Sown grasses interplanted with legumes yield fodder with better quality compared to forage harvested from the wild. However, there is limited information on the effect of interplanting high yielding grass varieties with legumes on Biomass Yield (BY) and nutritional quality. Therefore, effect of interplanting Chloris gayana (Chloris), Panicum maximum (Panicum), Brachiaria ruziziensis (Brachiaria) and Brachiaria mulato II (Mulato) with Lablab purpureus (Lablab) on BY and feeding value of their silages in West African Dwarf (WAD) goats were investigated. In a split-plot arrangement, Chloris, Panicum, Brachiaria and Mulato were planted sole and interplanted with Lablab in a randomised complete block design. At 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks post planting, BY (t/ha), Leaf to Stem Ratio (LSR), Leaf Length (LL, cm), Dry Matter (DM, %) and Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF, %) of these grasses were determined using standard procedures. Twelve-week old Chloris, Panicum, Brachiaria and Mulato were ensiled with Lablab at 3:1 for 21 days and the silage colour, aroma and pH were measured. The silages were fed to WAD goats (n=20, weighing 8.82±0.10 kg) for 105 days and Percentage Preference (PP), Dry Matter Intake (DMI, g/d) and Total Weight Gain (TWG, kg) were measured. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at α0.05. Interplanting of the grasses with Lablab significantly increased BY from 5.36±3.04 to 6.85±2.64 (Chloris), 16.64±8.93 to 17.76±9.37 (Panicum), 7.15±3.49 to 8.36±3.72 (Brachiaria) and 15.41±9.10 to 17.19±8.01 (Mulato), respectively. The LSR of Lablab interplanted with grasses 0.73±0.31 (Chloris), 1.23±0.70 (Panicum), 1.31±0.24 (Brachiaria) and 1.19±0.03 (Mulato) were significantly higher than their sole sown (0.64±0.33, 1.14±0.61, 1.24±0.27 and 1.09±0.39, respectively). Grasses interplanted with Lablab showed an increase in LL from 69.33±3.18 to 81.11±4.59 (Chloris), 116.22±34.05 to 124.86±35.90 (Panicum), 49.29±10.27 to 57.34±10.11 (Brachiaria) and 74.59±9.14 to 84.79±11.34 (Mulato), respectively. The DM of Lablab interplanted grasses 37.77±4.82 (Chloris), 35.78±3.92 (Panicum), 44.33±4.71 (Brachiaria) and 39.68±6.09 (Mulato) was significantly higher than their sole sown (35.59±4.52, 33.66±4.46, 40.34±4.04 and 36.02±4.28, respectively). Lower NDF of 62.29±1.41, 63.07±1.52, 61.48±1.61 and 61.01±1.26 were observed in Lablab interplanted with Chloris, Panicum, Brachiaria and Mulato, respectively compared to 63.62±3.22, 64.04±2.73, 62.98±3.26 and 62.90±2.53 in sole sown. The BY, LL, DM and NDF increased, while LSR reduced with age. All the grasses produced good silages with olive green colour, aromatic smell and pH ranging from 4.26 to 4.55. The PP of WAD goats ranked Mulato-Lablab (25.44%) > Brachiaria-Lablab (25.25%) > Panicum-Lablab (24.95%) > Chloris-Lablab (24.35%). The DMI was similar for all treatments but TWG of 3.20±10.01 (Mulato-Lablab) was significantly higher than others, however, 3.01±6.98 (Brachiaria-Lablab) and 2.92±5.02 (Panicum-Lablab) were similar. Interplanting Lablab purpureus with Chloris gayana, Panicum maximum, Brachiaria ruziziensis and Brachiaria mulato II enhanced biomass yield. Silage produced with combination of the interplanted Lablab purpureus and the grasses improved body weight gain of West African Dwarf goats. 2023-09-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2382 ORANGE-FLESHED SWEETPOTATO ROOTS AS ENERGY AND PROVITAMIN A SOURCES FOR LAYING HENS OLADEJI, Deborah Dara Orange-fleshed Sweetpotato Root (OSR) is a potent energy feedstuff for laying hens due to its high energy and carotenoid content. However, OSR’s high perishability and dustiness in finished feeds are limitations, which could be addressed by high-temperature-short-time extrusion. There is scarce information on the effect of extrusion on the nutritional quality of OSR, the pigmenting abilities of OSR carotenoids and their interconversion to vitamin A in poultry. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the effect of extrusion on metabolisable energy of OSR-based concentrates, pigmenting abilities and the interconversion of OSR carotenoids to vitamin A in laying hens. Concentrates: OSR and Corn Bran at 3:2 (OSR-CB), extruded at 65-70℃ (Elow) and 100- 110℃ (Ehigh) in a single screw extruder, were assayed for Water Solubility Index-WSI, Water Absorption Index-WAI, and Provitamin A (PVA) carotenoids using standard procedures. Twenty-nine-week-old ISA Brown hens (n=96, 1.9±0.1kg) were randomly allotted to 12 diets containing unextruded, Elow and Ehigh OSR-CB each at 0, 10, 20 or 30% as substitute for glucose monohydrate, for seven days (r=4). The nitrogen corrected Apparent Metabolisable Energy (AMEn, kcal/kg) of the concentrates were estimated using standard methods. Carotenoid-depleted hens at 42-week-old (n=96, 2.2±0.1kg) were randomly assigned to White Maize-Soybean Meal (WM+SBM, control), WM+SBM + apo- ester, OSR-CB+SBM or Yellow Maize -SBM (YM+SBM) based diet in four replicates for 84 days. Eggs were collected for yolk quality assessment, PVA carotenoids (μg/g) and retinol (μg/100g) at day 0, 28, 56 and 84 using standard procedures. Liver was biopsied at day 0, 28, 56, and 84, and assayed for retinol (μg/g). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at ἀ0.05. Extrusion significantly decreased WSI by 4.05% (23.67±0.47) and 16.21% (20.67±0.47) in Elow and Ehigh OSR-CB, respectively, compared to unextruded OSR-CB (24.67±0.47). A significantly higher WAI of 5.39±0.21 was recorded in Ehigh OSR-CB, while unextruded and Elow OSR-CB were similar. The PVA carotenoids decreased significantly from 228.04±0.05 in unextruded OSR-CB to 152.32±0.16 in Elow and 148.37±0.53 in Ehigh OSR- CB. Extrusion significantly enhanced AMEn of Elow and Ehigh OSR-CB by 16.47% iv (4051.15±0.05) and 14.11% (3968.82± 0.06), respectively over unextruded OSR-CB (3478.13± 0.08). Colour intensity of egg yolk at day 28 ranked: 74.07±0.18 (WM+SBM + apo-ester) > 70.97±0.04 (YM+SBM) > 63.41±0.03 (OSR-CB+SBM) > 53.68±0.09 (WM+SBM), with similar trends at 56 and 84 days. The PVA carotenoids in egg yolk on day 84 was significantly higher in OSR-CB+SBM (2.80±0.04) and YM+SBM (1.13±0.02) than WM+SBM (0.52±0.03) and WM+SBM + apo-ester (0.33±0.02) fed hens. Egg yolk retinol increased by 709.56% (77.88±0.04) and 20.06% (11.55±0.03), in OSR-CP+SBM and YM+SBM fed hens, respectively compared to the control (9.62±0.08) at day 28, with similar trend at 56 and 84 days. Liver retinol at day 28 was significantly higher in OSR- CB+SBM (996.26±0.04) and YM+SBM (367.64±0.05) and similar in WM+SBM (136.30±0.02) and WM+SBM + apo-ester (126.80±0.06) fed hens with same trend observed at 56 and 84 days. Extruded Orange-fleshed sweetpotato root based concentrate at low temperature improved energy availability, egg yolk pigmentation and vitamin A in laying hens. 2023-08-01T00:00:00Z