Growth Performance and Hematological Traits of Weaner Pigs Fed Graded Levels of Raw Bambara Nut (<i>Vigna Subterranean (L) Verdc</i>) Waste

Abstract

Sixty Weaner pigs with an average initial live weight of 6.81 ± 1.0kg were studied for their growth and haematological parameters when fed graded levels of raw bambara waste (BW) using a completely randomized design (CRD). They were fed five diets containing 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 percentage composition for 5 months. Live weight gain, final body weight, feed intake, feed conversion ration (FCR), protein efficiency ration (PER), cost of daily feed intake and cost of feed per kg weight gain were  determined. Packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, haemoglobin concentration (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) were also measured. There were significant (P<0.05) differences among treatments in feed intake, weight gain, final body weight, cost of daily feed intake and cost of feed per kg weight gain. Pigs fed 0, 25 and 50% bambara waste diets had significantly higher (P<0.05) feed intake and cost of feed per kg weight gain than those fed 75 and 100% raw bambara waste diets The lowest (P<0.05) cost of daily feed intake was observed
in treatment 5 (100% raw bambara nut waste). There were no significant (P > 0.05) differences among treatments in haematological parameters. The results of the study indicate that up to 100% raw bambara nut waste can be included in the rations of weaner pigs without any adverse effect on performance.

Keywords: Growth Performance, Bambara nut wastes, Weaner Pigs and Haematology.