Intake and Growth Performance of West African Dwarf Goats Fed Moringa oleifera, Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena leucocephala Dried Leaves as Supplements to Cassava Peels

An 84-day feeding trial was employed to investigate dried leaves of Moringa oleifera (MOR), Leucaena leucocephala (LEU) and Gliricidia sepium (GLI) as supplements to cassava peels by 16 growing West African Dwarf goats, with a mixed concentrate (MC) of groundnut cake and wheal offals (50:50) as the reference supplement. Feed intakes, weight gain, feed conversion (FCR) and protein efficiency ratios (PER) were monitored. Crude protein contents of the browse leaves were high and ranged from 21.64 to 28.86 % for GLI and LEU respectively. Dry matter intakes ranged from 3.55 to 4.12 % of body weights for animals on gliricidia leaf and mixed concentrates supplements respectively. MOR supplementation resulted in an average weight gain of 20.83 g/animal/day, comparable (P<0.05) to the value of 21.43 g/animal/day for the MC supplementation. Feed and protein were however more efficiently utilized by animals on the MOR supplement, with FCR and PER values of 14.94 and 1.87 which were both significantly (P>0.05) lower than the corresponding values of 16.54 and 2.74 for animals on the MC supplement. The high potentials of MOR for replacing expensive concentrates as supplements to a wide array of fibrous crop residues, as represented by cassava peels, were demonstrated by the results of this study. Keywords: WAD goats, concentrate feeding, cassava peels, Moringa oleifera, Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephala