Effect of supplementation of <i>Carica papaya</i> seed concentrate diets on performance and faecal egg count of village managed goats

Abstract

The effect of supplementation of Carica papaya seeds (CPS) concentrate diet on the performance and faecal egg count of semi intensively village managed West African dwarf goats aged 6 to 8 months old with average weight of 7.31 ± 0.35 kg was   evaluated in a 56 day feeding trial. Goats (n =16) were balanced for weight and assigned into four groups in a completely   randomized design to varying inclusion levels of Carica papaya seeds at 0, 5, 10 and 15g/100gconcentrate. Results showed high concentrations of crude protein (25.63%) and ether extract (29.16%) with a tannin content of 0.72% in CPS. The intake of CPS concentrate differed (P <0.05) across the treatment groups, with the least intake observed in goats fed 15% CPS. The  supplementation of CPS across dietary treatments improved (P<0.05) weight gain and reduced faecal egg counts in goats with best weight gain (35.71g/day)and percentage reduction in faecal egg count (77.27%) observed in goats supplemented with 10gCPS concentrate diet. Considering the easy access of Carica papaya seeds and its availability to local farmers who manage the majority of these goats, it was concluded that the supplementation of goats' diets with 10gCPS in 100g  concentrate diet can play an important role not only in improving the growth rate but also reducing faecal egg count thereby serving as a natural lowcost deworming herb.

Keywords: Carica papayaseeds,goats, performance, faecal egg count.