Dietary effect of <i>Pleurotus pulmonaris</i> treated cocoa bean shell meal on fibre fractions utilisation by the West African Dwarf goats

Abstract

A 63-day study was conducted to evaluate the dietary effect of Pleurotus pulmonaris treated cocoa bean shell meal diets on fibre fraction utilization of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats (aged 9 -12 months) with an average live weight of 6.31±0.3 kg. Six diets were formulated such that wheat offal was replaced with ensiled Pleurotus pulmonaris treated cocoa bean shell meal at ratio 0 (A), 20% (B), 40% (C), 60% (D), 80% (E), 100% (F) in complete diets. The experimental diets were fed to 18 WAD goats in three replicates per treatment using completely randomized design. The determined parameters included; chemical composition of the diets, dry matter and fibre fractions intake, weight gains and feed to gain ratio. The dry matter of raw cocoa bean shells was 88.53% and dry matter of Pleurotus pulmonaris treated cocoa bean shells was 87.38%. The crude protein contents of raw bean shells and Pleurotus pulmonaris treated cocoa bean shells were 11.98 and 26.63% respectively. The dry matter of the diets ranged from 86.83 to 90.70%, diet B had the highest value while crude protein ranged between 19.73 (diet A) and 28.88% (diet F) and increased with increased inclusion of Pleurotus pulmonaris treated cocoa bean shell meal in the diets. The nutrients intake was significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the treatment except dry matter and cellulose. The crude fibre and fibre fractions were efficiently digested. Nitrogen balance, apparent digestibility and weight gain were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the treatment. The goats fed diet A converted their feed to flesh better than other goats. However, goats fed diet F performed best compared to other goats fed diets B, C, D and E that contained Pleurotus pulmonaris treated cocoa bean shell meal. It can be concluded that Pleurotus pulmonaris treated cocoa bean shell meal incorporated in goat's diet could supply energy and protein to
sustain the growth without adverse effect.