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Matching Livestock Systems with Available Resources |
MEKARN Regional Conference 2007 |
Cassava leaves are usually wasted wasted after harvesting. Using them for animal feeding can help to reduce the feed cost and increase the family income of the farmer. The aim of the experiment was to compare digestibility and growth rates in the local and Pekin duck breeds when cassava leaf meal was included in the diet.
300 ducks, 150 of the local duck breed and 150 of Pekin ducks, from ten day-old (mean weights 180g/bird of local duck breed and 190g/bird of Pekin duck) were allocated in a Completely Randomized Design to 5 groups with three replications for 42 day growth trial. All birds were given a basal diet with maize, rice bran, soybean, dry fish, DCP, Premix vitamin, with cassava leaf meal included at 0, 7.5, 15, 22.5, and 30% replacement of the dried fish . Feeding was divided into 2 stages: the first (from 1st to 3rd week) was with 22% of protein and the second (from 3rd to 6th week) with 20% of protein in the diet.
Growth rates of Pekin ducks (55.8 g/day) were almost twice those of the local ducks ( 23.7 g/day). There were no differences among levels of cassava leaf meal. Apparent digestibility of crude protein and N retention were higher in Pekin compared with local ducks, and for diets containing cassava leaf meal compared with the control diet without cassava leaf meal.
It is concluded that cassava leaf meal can replace up to 35% of the fish meal in diets for growing ducks.