The effect of substituting cowpea husk with Daniellia oliveri foliage on the performance of red Sokoto goat

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of replacing cowpea husk with Daniellia oliveri foliage on the performance of Red Sokoto Goats. Twenty five (25) Red Sokoto goats weighing on the average 13.00 ±1.2kg were divided into five groups with five animals per group. Each group was randomly assigned to the five dietary treatments in a completely randomized design (CRD). The diets compared were 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 0% cowpea husk and 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% D. oliveri foliage designated as T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively. Result indicates significant (P 0.05) of feeding D. oliveri foliage on carcass components and organ weights except for carcass length, carcass weight, weight of skin, dressing percentage and weight of heart. From the results, it can be concluded that D. oliveri foliage can be fed as sole diet or in combination with cowpea husk in the semi-arid environment. Keywords: Browse, Daniellia oliveri , goats, Digestibility and Carcass