2020 SCIENCELINE

O nline J ournal of A nimal and F eed R esearch

Volume 10, Issue 3: 76-84; May 27, 2020

ISSN 2228-7701

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.36380/scil.2020.ojafr11

EFFECT OF PELLETED BROWSE-BASED FEED WITH A BASAL DIET OF

Andropogon gayanus FOR SHEEP ON INTAKE, NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY

AND SOME HAEMATOLOGICAL AND BLOOD BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS



Leonard ADJORLOLO¹, Mark NSOH², Akwasi MENSAH-BONSU³and Frederick OBESE²

¹Livestock and Poultry Research Centre, School of Agriculture, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

²Department of Animal Science, School of Agriculture, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

³Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, School of Agriculture, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

^Email: fobese@ug.edu.gh;

: 0000-0001-6747-4786

^Supporting Information

ABSTRACT: The study was designed to evaluate the nutritional quality of pelleted diets based on four of the major

feed resources fed to small ruminants by farmers in the Accra Plains. Leaves of Samanea saman, Acacia

auriculiformis and Ficus exasperata and cassava peels were dried, mixed with other ingredients and pelleted. A

preference trial showed sheep accepted all the four supplements with a marked preference for cassava peels-

based (CP-B) and Samanea saman-based (SL-B) supplements compared with Acacia auriculiformis-based (AL-B)

and Ficus exasperata-based (FL-B) supplements (P<0.05). The supplements were subsequently fed to Eight West

African Dwarf sheep on a basal diet of Andropogon gayanus (Gamba grass) hay in Latin square design. Dry

matter intakes (DMI) did not differ by the type of supplement (P>0.05). However, crude protein intake (CPI) was

higher (P<0.05) in sheep fed AL-B and FL-B than those fed SL-B and CP-B. Dry matter and neutral detergent fibre

(NDF) digestibility were lowest (P<0.05) for sheep fed CP-B. Dietary treatments did not affect haematological

parameters, except for neutrophil percentage which was higher (P<0.05) in sheep fed CP-B than those fed SL-B.

Animals fed CP-B had the lowest monocyte concentrations (P<0.05). Furthermore, all the serum biochemical

parameters were not affected by dietary treatment except total protein concentration which was highest

(P<0.05) in sheep fed on AL-B. It is concluded that the feed resources available to the small ruminant keepers

can be used to prepare pelleted supplements that are acceptable to sheep and help sustain appreciable

performance on low quality forages during the dry season without any deleterious effects on intake, digestibility,

physiology and health.

Keywords: Acceptability, Browse plants, Dry season, Accra Plains, Blood parameters, Feed intake

Abbreviations: AL-B: Acacia auriculiformis-based supplement; ADF: Acid detergent fibre; ADFD: Acid detergent fibre digestibility; ADFI: Acid

detergent fibre intake; ANOVA: Analysis of variance; AOAC: Association of Official Analytical chemists; CP: crude protein; CPD: crude protein

digestibility: CPI: crude protein intake; CP-B: cassava peel-based supplement; DM: dry matter; DMD: dry matter digestibility; DMI: dry matter

intake; FCE: feed conversion efficiency; FL-B: Ficus exasperata-based supplement; LIPREC: Livestock and Poultry Research Centre; MCV: mean

corpuscular volume; MCH: mean corpuscular hydrogen; MCHC: mean corpuscular hydrogen concentration; NDF: Neutral detergent fibre; NDFD:

neutral detergent fibre digestibility; NDFI: neutral detergent fibre intake OM: organic matter: OMD: organic matter digestibility; OMI: organic

matter intake; PCV: packed cell volume; RBC: red blood cell; SEM: standard error of mean; SL-B: Samanea saman-based supplement; T.

Cholesterol: total cholesterol; WAD: West African Dwarf; WBC: white blood cell

INTRODUCTION

In the savannah areas of West Africa, where most livestock in the sub region are kept, the dry seasons are much longer

than in the humid areas and are characterised by declines in forage availability and quality. For both cultivated pastures

(Olanite et al., 2004 ) and natural pastures (Adjorlolo, 2014) forage biomass have been shown to decline drastically in the

dry season. Other studies have indicated significant decreases in forage quality during the dry season. Even for forage

legumes, decreases in crude protein content to as low as 5-7% (Peters et al., 1997) and increases in neutral detergent

fibre (Fujihara et al., 2004) during the dry season have been reported. Supplementation, either to increase the dry matter

intake or to increase crude protein intake is often necessary for maintenance and possibly production. The use of fodder

tree and shrub leaves as supplement is widely practiced by farmers in Ghana. However, during the late dry season, many

trees shed their leaves and availability of tree leaves decline. Many small ruminant keepers resort to buying agro-

industrial by-products such as wheat bran, rice bran and cassava peels from processing facilities for supplementary

feeding.

An earlier study (Nsoh, 2019) identified feed resources commonly used by small ruminant keepers in the Accra

Plains. This study sought to use four of the most important feed resources identified to develop pelleted multi-nutrient

feed supplements with long shelf life, which can be stored and fed anytime during the year. It therefore assessed the

effects of supplementary feed packages based on three browses and cassava peels on intake, metabolism and

physiology of the West African Dwarf sheep.

To cite this paper: Adjorlolo L, Nsoh M, Mensah-Bonsu A and Obese F (2020). Effect of pelleted browse-based feed with a basal diet of Andropogon gayanus for sheep

on intake, nutrient digestibility and some haematological and blood biochemical parameters. Online J. Anim. Feed Res., 10 (3): 76-84. DOI:

https://dx.doi.org/10.36380/scil.2020.ojafr11

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study area

The study was conducted at the Livestock and Poultry Research Centre (LIPREC) of the University of Ghana (05⁰68'

N, 00⁰10' W) in the Coastal Savannah belt of Ghana, West Africa. Annual rainfall averages 881 mm per annum but with a

high degree of variability. The rainy season was from April to June, the minor season was from September to October, and

the dry season from November to March (Adjorlolo, 2014).

Experimental animals and their management

All animals used in the study were growing West African Dwarf sheep. The animals were housed in individual pens

with concrete floors. The housing unit had roofs made of corrugated iron sheets. The pens were 3m × 1.5m in dimension.

Each pen had one wooden feeding trough for the basal diet and two plastic troughs, one for the supplement and the other

for water. All the animals were treated against external parasites with pour-on acaricide and dewormed with Albendazole

(10%), a broad-spectrum anthelminthic. All the procedures in this study were approved by the Noguchi Memorial Institute

for Medical Research Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (NIACUC), University of Ghana (NIACUC Protocol No:

2017-03-2R).

Preparation of experimental diets

Three browse plants, Ficus exasperata, Samanea saman and Acacia auriculiformis, and cassava peels were

identified in an earlier study (Nsoh, 2019) as the most important feed resources used in small ruminant feeding in the

Accra Plains. These were selected for evaluation. Leaves of the browses were harvested from trees around LIPREC. The

leaves as well as cassava peels, which was bought from cassava processors were shade dried for four to six days and

ground in a hammer mill (1 mm screen) into meals. The meals were each mixed with conventional feed ingredients and

micro-nutrients and pelleted (Table 1).

Table 1 - Ingredient composition of supplements used in the acceptability study

Supplements

SL-B

AL-B

FL-B

CP-B

Ingredients: (g/kg)

Maize

Wheat bran

Mineral salt

159

120

124

135

165

108

650

Dicalcium phosphate

Sulphate of ammonia

Urea

320

Cassava peels

Samanea saman

Acacia auriculiformis

Ficus exasperata

Total (Kg)

700

1000

160.6

700

1000

160.1

700

1000

160.7

1000

160.7

Crude protein (calculated)

CP-B: cassava peels-based; and SL-B: Samanea saman-based; AL-B: Acacia auriculiformis-based; FL-B: Ficus exasperata-based supplements

The pelleted supplements were formulated to be isonitrogenous using literature values of nitrogen concentrations in

the browses and cassava peels. The dietary treatments were as follows:

Treatment 1 (SL-B) = Gamba grass hay + Samanea saman leaf meal-based supplement

Treatment 2 (AL-B) = Gamba grass hay + Acacia auriculiformis leaf meal-based supplement

Treatment 3 (FL-B) = Gamba grass hay + Ficus exasperata leaf meal-based supplement

Treatment 4 (CP-B) = Gamba grass hay + Cassava peel meal-based supplement

Preference study

Four female sheep with an average live weight of 13.7±1.5 kg were used for this trial. Each animal was penned

individually and given free access to fresh water. Each sheep was offered the four supplements in a cafeteria style at

08:00 hours each day and were allowed one hour to select. After the one hour, the refusal was deducted from the feed

offered to determine the amount of each supplement consumed. The Andropogon gayanus hay which acted as the basal

diet, was then offered ad libitum. An adjustment period of 14 days was followed by a data collection period of seven days.

Voluntary feed intake and digestibility study

Eight female sheep with an average initial body weight of 14.9±1.5 kg were randomly allotted to four experimental

diets in a replicated Latin square design. Animals on each treatment were offered Andropogon gayanus hay as the basal

feed and supplemented with either SL-B, AL-B, FL-B or CP-B. A daily supplement allowance of approximately 25% of

voluntary intake was offered as single meals at 08:00 hours followed by the grass hay offered ad libitum. An adjustment

To cite this paper: Adjorlolo L, Nsoh M, Mensah-Bonsu A and Obese F (2020). Effect of pelleted browse-based feed with a basal diet of Andropogon gayanus for sheep

on intake, nutrient digestibility and some haematological and blood biochemical parameters. Online J. Anim. Feed Res., 10 (3): 76-84. DOI:

https://dx.doi.org/10.36380/scil.2020.ojafr11

period of 14 days was followed by 74 days of data collection. Feed intake was determined daily as the difference between

weight of feed offered and refusals. Rectal faecal samples were taken from each animal and bulked for each sheep for

six days during the feed intake trial. The faecal samples were stored in a refrigerator. The faecal samples were then oven

dried at 55℃ to a constant weight for dry matter (DM) determination. The dried faeces were ground using a laboratory

mill through 1mm sieve and bagged for subsequent analysis.

Apparent digestibility (AD) of dry matter and other fractions of the feed were calculated as:

AD (%) = 100 – (

(de Oliveira et al., 2012)

Lignin was used as internal marker.

Chemical analysis of feed and faeces

Dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, and ash for the feed and faeces were determined using the method of

AOAC (2004). Neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and silica were

determined according to Van Soest et al. (1991).

Blood sampling

Blood samples were collected every two weeks (week 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) from the jugular vein of each sheep using a

vacutainer needle. Sampling was done in the morning, between 07:30 and 08:00 hours. A total of 10ml of blood sample

was collected and 4ml transferred into a glass vacutainer tube containing the anticoagulant tripotassiumethelyne

diamine tetra acetic acid (K3.EDTA). The tubes were placed on ice and transported immediately to the Laboratory for

haematological analysis. The remaining 6 ml was transferred into glass vacutainer tubes containing clot (Gel) activator.

This was placed on ice pack and also transported to the Laboratory where it was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes

at 4 C. The sera obtained were gently harvested into Eppendorf tubes and stored at -20⁰C until the analyzed for

biochemical parameters.

Haematological analysis

The haemoglobin concentration was determined by the cyanmethaemoglobin method (Gillet et al., 2009), while PCV

was estimated by the microhaematocrit method (Samour, 2006). The RBC and WBC counts were determined using the

haemocytometer.

Total RBC count was determined using the formula given by Samour (2006): RBC (10¹²/L)

, Where: L= Litre; N=

Number of cells counted in 160 small squares.

The total WBC counts was estimated using the formula given by Campbell (1994): WBC (10⁹/L)

, Where:

L= litre; N= number of cells counted in nine small squares

The RBC indices were computed using the formulas provided by Reece and Swenson (2004) below:

MCV (fL)= x 10; MCH (pg)= x 10; MCHC (%)= x 100

In determining the differential WBC counts, thin smears of blood were made from blood samples obtained from

venipuncture, on well ethanol-cleaned, grease-free microscope slides. They were air-dried, fixed in absolute methanol and

stained with Giemsa stain. Stained slides were studied under oil immersion objective at 1000X magnification.

Percentages of neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils were all determined based on

observation of 200 WBC per film.

Blood biochemical analysis

The concentrations of glucose, total proteins, albumin, total cholesterol and urea were determined in the serum at

weeks 1,3,5,7, and 9 using the Mindray BA -88A Semi-Auto Chemistry Analyzer. Globulin concentration was computed as

the difference between total protein and albumin concentrations.

Statistical analyses

Data from the acceptability, feed intake and digestibility studies were subjected to Analysis of variance procedure

(ANOVA) of GenStat Release 12th Edition (VSN International, 2009 ), whilst that of the blood parameters was analyzed

using repeated measures analysis of variance procedure of GenStat (VSN International, 2009). The Least significant

difference procedure of GenStat was used to separate the means at 5% level of significance.

RESULTS

Chemical composition of feed ingredients and supplements

The chemical composition of the basal diet (Gamba grass hay), the three browses (Samanea saman, Acacia

auriculiformis and Ficus exasperata) and cassava peels are presented in Table 2. The basal diet, the leaf meals of the

three browses and cassava peels had comparable dry matter contents (range 89.9 to 94.6%) and organic matter (range

80.8 to 87.2%) contents. The chemical composition of the supplements are shown in Table 3. The dry matter, organic

To cite this paper: Adjorlolo L, Nsoh M, Mensah-Bonsu A and Obese F (2020). Effect of pelleted browse-based feed with a basal diet of Andropogon gayanus for sheep

on intake, nutrient digestibility and some haematological and blood biochemical parameters. Online J. Anim. Feed Res., 10 (3): 76-84. DOI:

https://dx.doi.org/10.36380/scil.2020.ojafr11

matter, NDF and lignin contents were similar. FL-B had the highest crude protein content (21.5%) while CP-B had the least

(16.3%) crude protein but highest ADF.

Preference of sheep for the pelleted supplements

The sheep accepted all the supplements but preferred (P<0.05) SL-B and CP-B to the rest. The supplement least

preferred (P<0.05) was FL-B. The preference of sheep for the three browses and cassava peel meal supplements is shown

in Table 4.

Influence of supplements on voluntary intakes in West African Dwarf sheep

The influence of the supplements on voluntary intake in sheep is shown in Table 5. The total dry matter intake was

similar (P>0.05) across the treatments. Crude protein intake ranged from 59.63 to 67.01%. Sheep fed AL-B and FL-B had

similar crude protein intakes but significantly higher (P<0.05) crude protein intake than those fed SL-B and CP-B. Organic

matter intake was least (P<0.05) in FL-B Sheep. However, intake of NDF was significantly higher (P<0.05) in sheep fed FL-

B than those fed the other treatments. The ADF intake on the other hand was in the range of 25.44 to 54.65g/day and

was found to be significantly higher (P<0.05) in sheep fed SL-B and CP-B than those fed AL-B and FL-B. Sheep CP-B had

lower (P<0.05) lignin intake than those fed SL-B, AL-B and FL-B.

Digestibility of nutrients by West African Dwarf sheep

Dry matter digestibility was lowest (P<0.05) in sheep fed CP-B (Table 6). SL-B had the highest dry matter digestibility

value of 62.35% and this was significantly (P<0.05) higher than the digestibility of 60.33% for AL-B. The crude protein

digestibility followed a similar pattern as dry matter digestibility. The organic matter digestibility in this study ranged from

46.31 to 52.25%. Sheep fed SL-B had the highest (P<0.01) organic matter digestibility. Also, sheep fed FL-B had higher

(P<0.05) organic matter digestibility than those fed AL-B and CP-B. The NDF digestibility in this study ranged from 34.9 for

CP-B to 41.57% for FL-B. NDF digestibility was similar (P>0.05) for sheep fed SL-B and FL-B, but both were higher

(P<0.05). The ADF digestibility in this study ranged from 22.30 to 33.47%. The ADF digestibility was similar (P>0.05) in

sheep fed SL-B and CP-B, but both were higher (P<0.05) than for AL-B and FL-B.

Table 2 - Chemical composition of leaf meals of browses, cassava peel meal and Andropogon gayanus hay

Andropogon

hay

Cassava

Peels

Fraction (%)

Samanea

Acacia

Ficus

Dry matter

89.9

6.7

80.8

73.8

44.9

6.1

92.7

21.9

83.8

59.8

39.7

6.8

93.4

16.4

87.2

60.7

49.5

6.2

91.9

15.9

87.2

42.9

36.4

3.7

94.6

2.1

80.9

36.3

27.4

9.7

Crude protein

Organic matter

Neutral detergent fibre

Acid detergent fibre

Lignin

Total ash

12.6

8.9

6.2

3.7

7.3

Table 3 - Chemical composition of the experimental supplements

Supplement (%)

Fraction (%)

SL-B

AL-B

FL-B

CP-B

91.2

16.3

84.8

41.3

30.6

3.4

Dry matter

92.5

18.3

85.9

41.6

30.2

3.8

91.7

20.5

84.7

44.5

29.6

4.7

90.2

21.5

83.7

43.4

14.6

4.5

Crude protein

Organic matter

Neutral detergent fibre

Acid detergent fibre

Lignin

CP-B: cassava peels-based; and SL-B: Samanea saman-based; AL-B: Acacia auriculiformis-based; FL-B: Ficus exasperata-based supplements

Table 4 - Preference of West African Dwarf sheep for the supplements

Supplements

Means of intake (g)

CP-B

SL-B

223.3^a

195.8^a

111.3^b

57.6^c

AL-B

FL-B

SEM

24.16

<0.001

P-Value

^a,b,c,Means within a column with different superscripts differ significantly at P<0.05.

To cite this paper: Adjorlolo L, Nsoh M, Mensah-Bonsu A and Obese F (2020). Effect of pelleted browse-based feed with a basal diet of Andropogon gayanus for sheep

on intake, nutrient digestibility and some haematological and blood biochemical parameters. Online J. Anim. Feed Res., 10 (3): 76-84. DOI:

https://dx.doi.org/10.36380/scil.2020.ojafr11

Table 5 - Influence of supplements on voluntary intakes in West African Dwarf sheep

Supplements

SL-B

AL-B

FL-B

CP-B

SEM

P-value

Parameter (g/day)

Dry matter intake

649.5

63.69^b

533.6^a

74.36^b

54.65^a

35.49^a

636.8

67.01^a

520.9^a

76.75^b

50.81^b

36.56^a

629.6

66.32^a

497.3^b

85.98^a

25.44^c

36.17^a

653.3

59.63^c

534.4^a

72.98^b

53.79^a

34.14^b

11.52

1.277

9.40

2.042

1.158

0.629

0.143

Crude protein intake

Organic matter intake

Neutral detergent fibre intake

Acid detergent fibre intake

Lignin intake

< 0.001

^a,b,c,Means within a row with different superscripts differ significantly at P<0.05.; CP-B: cassava peels-based; and SL-B: Samanea saman-

based; AL-B: Acacia auriculiformis-based; FL-B: Ficus exasperata-based supplements.

Table 6 - Digestibility of components of feed as influenced by supplementation (%)

Supplements

SL-B

AL-B

FL-B

CP-B

SEM

P-value

Fraction (%)

Dry matter

62.35^a

57.25^a

52.25^a

40.62^a

32.87^a

60.33^b

56.30^b

47.22^c

36.29^b

22.30^c

61.22^ab

56.25^ab

49.43^b

41.57^a

25.64^b

57.10^c

51.10^c

46.31^c

34.90^b

33.47^a

0.655

0.553

0.892

0.993

1.034

<0.001

Crude protein

Organic matter

Neutral detergent fibre

Acid detergent fibre

a,b,c,

Means within a row with different superscripts differ significantly at P<0.05.; SEM = Standard error of mean. CP-B: cassava peels-based;

and SL-B: Samanea saman-based; AL-B: Acacia auriculiformis-based; FL-B: Ficus exasperata-based supplements

Haematological and serum biochemical parameters in West African Dwarf sheep

Details of the effects of the supplements on haematological and serum biochemical parameters of sheep are

shown in Table 7. There was no significant treatment effect (P˃0.05) on most of the haematological parameters

measured except neutrophils and monocyte levels. Sheep that were fed the CP-B had significantly (P<0.05) higher

neutrophil value than those fed on SL-B. Values for sheep on AL-B and FL-B, however, were not significantly different

(P˃0.05) from those on SL-B and CP-B. Sheep on SL-B and AL-B had significantly (P=0.05) higher monocyte

concentrations than those on CP-B. Dietary treatment did not significantly (P˃0.05) affect all the serum biochemical

parameters determined except total protein concentration which was significantly (P<0.05) higher in sheep fed on AL-B

than those fed on SL-B, FL-B and CP-B. Generally, the concentrations of most of the haematological and serum

biochemical parameters remained relatively stable and showed similar trends across dietary treatments during the

period of study (Figures 1 and 2).

Figure 1 - Changes in neutrophil concentration in West African Dwarf Sheep. CP-B: cassava peels-based; and SL-B: Samanea

saman-based; AL-B: Acacia auriculiformis-based; FL-B: Ficus exasperata-based supplements

To cite this paper: Adjorlolo L, Nsoh M, Mensah-Bonsu A and Obese F (2020). Effect of pelleted browse-based feed with a basal diet of Andropogon gayanus for sheep

on intake, nutrient digestibility and some haematological and blood biochemical parameters. Online J. Anim. Feed Res., 10 (3): 76-84. DOI:

https://dx.doi.org/10.36380/scil.2020.ojafr11

Figure 2 - changes in Glucose concentration in West African Dwarf Sheep. CP-B: cassava peels-based; and SL-B: Samanea

saman-based; AL-B: Acacia auriculiformis-based; FL-B: Ficus exasperata-based supplements

Table 7 - Haematological and serum biochemical parameters of West African Dwarf sheep fed basal diet of

Andropogon gayanus hay and supplements

Treatments

Parameters

SEM

P-value

SL-B

AL-B

FL-B

CP-B

Haematological Indices

Haemoglobin (g/dL)

PCV (%)

13.27

29.20

10.63

27.80

12.40

45.44

4.37

15.27

33.60

11.94

27.87

12.87

45.24

4.96

15.33

32.80

11.80

28.73

13.26

46.74

4.34

15.46

35.60

11.24

29.45

13.92

43.43

4.87

1.01

2.05

0.66

0.14

0.07

0.15

0.39

4.37

4.10

0.80

0.73

0.10

0.162

0.291

0.160

0.577

0.157

0.053

0.641

0.037

0.487

0.625

0.50

RBC (x10¹²g/L)

MCV (fL)

MCH (pg)

MCHC (g/dL)

WBC(x10⁹/L)

Neutrophils (%)

Lymphocyte (%)

Eosinophils (%)

Monocytes (%)

Basophils (%)

56.90^b

39.20

1.60

61.30^ab

34.60

1.50

58.40^ab

39.30

0.80

63.80^a

34.70

0.80

2.20^a

0.09

2.30^a

0.11

0.90^ab

0.22

0.50^b

0.18

0.596

Serum Biochemical Indices

Glucose (mmol/L)

Total protein (g/L)

Albumen (g/L)

1.96

60.46^b

36.96

23.50

1.40

1.54

64.38^a

38.43

25.95

1.50

1.72

61.48^b

37.07

24.41

1.48

1.57

61.57^b

37.37

24.14

1.79

0.20

0.65

0.78

1.23

2.87

0.36

0.108

0.030

0.374

0.388

0.497

0.492

Globulin (g/L)

T. cholesterol (mmol/L)

Urea (mmol/L)

9.51

9.67

8.71

9.21

a,b

Means within a row with different superscripts differ significantly at P<0.05.; T.cholesterol = total cholesterol. CP-B: cassava peels-based;

and SL-B: Samanea saman-based; AL-B: Acacia auriculiformis-based; FL-B: Ficus exasperata-based supplements

DISCUSSION

All the supplements were acceptable but SL-B and CP-B had the highest preference by sheep. A number of factors may

influence acceptability of feed by small ruminants. Provenza and Cincotta (1994) reported that plant physical structure

and chemical composition are the most vital factors that influence preference for feed. Oldham and Alderman (1982)

reported that ad libitum intake by animals is increased by an increase in crude protein content of diets. However, in this

study, no association between crude protein concentration and preference could be established.

The similarity in dry matter intakes may suggest that the supplements stimulated intake of the basal diets to similar

extents despite the differences in the crude protein concentrations. The higher crude protein intake in sheep fed AL-B and

FL-B compared to the SL-B and CP-B could be attributed to higher crude protein concentration of the supplements of AL-B

and FL-B. High crude protein intake makes available nitrogen needed to improve the rumen eco-system and increase the

animal’s ability to digest fibrous portions of feed. Odedire and Oloidi (2014) reported a decrease in crude protein intake

To cite this paper: Adjorlolo L, Nsoh M, Mensah-Bonsu A and Obese F (2020). Effect of pelleted browse-based feed with a basal diet of Andropogon gayanus for sheep

on intake, nutrient digestibility and some haematological and blood biochemical parameters. Online J. Anim. Feed Res., 10 (3): 76-84. DOI:

https://dx.doi.org/10.36380/scil.2020.ojafr11

due to reduced palatability of the diet when West African Dwarf goats were fed supplements containing increasing levels

of wild sunflower. In the current study however, dry matter intakes were similar. The lower organic matter intake in sheep

fed FL-B could be attributed to the high levels of anti-nutritional factors, such as alkaloids, saponins, cyanogenic

glycosides and tannins contained in that supplement that could potentially have adverse effects on nutrient utilization as

reported by Ljeh and Ukwemi (2007). The higher NDF intake of sheep fed FL-B could be attributed to the higher crude

protein level in FL-B (21.5%) which could have improved rumen environment aiding rumen microbial fermentation thereby

increasing dry matter intake and consequently, NDF intake. The high intake of ADF in sheep fed SL-B and CP-B may be

due to moderate quantities of antinutritional factors in SL-B (Obasi et al., 2010) and tolerable levels of cyanogenic

glycosides in CP-B which might not have adversely influenced the rumen environment but rather aided in ADF digestion

thereby increasing its intake. The lower lignin intake in sheep fed CP-B compared to those fed SL-B, AL-B and FL-B could

be attributed to an imbalance or inadequacy of nutrients especially crude protein intake in sheep fed CP-B which might

have resulted in reduced rumen ammonia production and microbial growth and activity. This could indirectly slow down

the rates of digestion and passage and subsequently reduce intake as reported by Preston and Leng (1987).

The lower dry matter digestibility in sheep fed CP-B compared to the other treatments could be attributed to lower

crude protein intake of this supplement. Also, anti-nutritional factors such as cyanogenic glycosides in the cassava peels

might have slowed down microbial action and thereby decreased dry matter digestibility. Anti-nutritional factors are

known to interfere with normal digestion, metabolism and absorption of nutrients (Gilani et al., 2005). The leaves of

forages are high in readily degradable nitrogen as reported by NRC (2000) and some by-pass protein. Inclusion of such

browses in ruminant diets cause faster fermentation rate and substrate degradation hence increasing dry matter intake.

The higher crude protein intake of sheep fed SL-B, AL-B and FL-B over CP-B could have enhanced the digestibility of crude

protein in these supplements than the CP-B. The presence of cyanogenic glycosides in the cassava peel meal supplement

could have inhibited the effective digestion of protein by the rumen microbes. The leaves of forages are high in readily

degradable nitrogen as reported by NRC (2000) and some by-pass protein. Inclusion of such browses in ruminant diets will

cause faster fermentation rate and substrate degradation hence increasing dry matter intake.

The high digestibility of organic matter of sheep fed SL-B and FL-B could be due to the provision of adequate

nutrients to the rumen microbes with consequent improvement in organic matter intake whilst higher levels of flavonoids

and triterpenoids in AL-B and cyanogenic glycosides in CP-B adversely affected rumen microbial activity resulting in lower

organic matter digestibility. Also, the lower crude protein digestibility in sheep fed CP-B may account for their lowest

organic matter digestibility.

The high NDF digestibility in sheep fed SL-B and FL-B is likely due to moderate concentrations of secondary

metabolites in the Samanea and Ficus leaf meals that might have had positive influence on rumen microbes as several

researchers have reported secondary metabolites having positive impacts on rumen fermentation due to their low or

moderate concentrations (Jiménez-Peralta et al., 2011; Salem et al., 2014 ). The low crude protein level in CP-B could have

inhibited rumen activity thus decreasing digestibility of NDF of sheep fed that diet. However, ADF digestibility in sheep fed

CP-B was higher probably as a result of low lignin contents in CP-B compared with the others.

Haematological and blood biochemical indices provide useful information on the physiological status of animals and

hence serve as a tool in determining normal healthy state of animals (Onasanya et al., 2015 ). The similar concentrations

of the haematological parameters in most of the test diets suggest that the inclusion of the supplements did not have

adverse or detrimental effects on the health of the sheep. This suggests the quality of the supplementary diets were good

to help sustain growth of sheep during periods when animals have to rely of poor quality fodder. The haemoglobin and

PCV levels of 13.27 to 15.46 g/dL and 29.20 to 35.60% respectively obtained in the present study were within the normal

physiological range of 9 to 15 g/dL and 27 to 45% respectively reported for sheep (The Merck Veterinary Manual, 2010 ).

This suggests similar ability of the dietary treatments in augmenting the production of haemoglobin and RBCs for efficient

transportation of gases during respiration. Konlan et al. (2012) and Dougba (2017) in earlier studies reported

haemoglobin and PVC ranges of 12.41 to 13.60 g/dL and 27.45 to 29.43% respectively for the same breed of sheep fed

diets containing various agro-industrial by-products. Total RBC counts range of values (10.63 to 11.94 x 10¹²g/L) was

within the normal physiological range of 9 to 15 x 10¹²g/L reported for sheep (The Merck Veterinary Manual, 2010 )

indicating the efficient synthesis of RBCs across the dietary treatments. The MCV, MCH and MCHC values obtained in the

present study were also comparable to the normal physiological range for sheep. The total WBC counts (4.34 x 10⁹to

4.96 x 10⁹g/L obtained in the present study were within the normal range of 4 x 10⁹to 12 x 109/L reported for sheep

(The Merck Veterinary Manual, 2010 ). This suggests the test diets supplied enough nutrients for the production of WBCs

to adequately defend the body against infections. Konlan et al. (2012) reported a range of 8.37 x 10⁹to 9.30 x 10⁹for the

West African Dwarf sheep fed a basal diet of rice straw and groundnut haulms with graded levels of shea-nut cake

supplement. Also, the WBC differential counts across dietary treatments were within the normal ranges reported for

sheep (The Merck Veterinary Manual, 2010 ). This suggests similar ability of the sheep to fight infection when fed the

supplements. The distribution of WBC observed in the present study were comparable with the range of values reported

for the same breed of sheep by Baiden and Obese (2010) and Konlan et al. (2012).

The nonsignificant difference in the concentrations of most of the blood biochemical parameters across the dietary

treatments suggest that the inclusion of leaf meal supplements based on Samanea, Acacia, Ficus, and Cassava peel

meal-based supplements did not have adverse effects on the physiology of the West African Dwarf sheep. The similar

concentration of serum glucose across dietary treatments suggest the inclusion of the browse species leaf meal and

To cite this paper: Adjorlolo L, Nsoh M, Mensah-Bonsu A and Obese F (2020). Effect of pelleted browse-based feed with a basal diet of Andropogon gayanus for sheep

on intake, nutrient digestibility and some haematological and blood biochemical parameters. Online J. Anim. Feed Res., 10 (3): 76-84. DOI:

https://dx.doi.org/10.36380/scil.2020.ojafr11

cassava peel-based supplements did not adversely deprived the sheep of energy for metabolic activities. The range of

values (1.54 to 1.96 mmol/L) obtained in the present study was however, lower than the 2.85 to 3.10 mmol/L reported

for West Africa Dwarf sheep fed basal diet of rice straw and supplemented with varying levels of neem leaf meal

concentrate diets (Dougba, 2017 ). Serum concentrations of total protein, albumin and globulin serve as indicators of

protein status (Ndlovu et al., 2007). Also, circulating concentrations of globulin usually give indication of an animal’s

immune state and its response to fighting diseases and infections (Kapele et al., 2008 ). The higher crude protein intake

for sheep fed AL-B than those fed the other three supplements may account for its high total protein value. The values

obtained for total protein concentrations, 60.46 to 64.38 g/L were within the normal physiological range of 59 to 78 g/L

reported for sheep (The Merck Veterinary Manual, 20 10). The total protein concentrations were comparable to the 56.00

to 61.34 g/L reported for the same breed of sheep fed basal diet of rice straw and groundnut haulms with graded levels

of shea nut cake concentrate supplement (Konlan et al., 2012), but lower than the 72.3 to 83.3 g/L reported for the same

breed of sheep (Dougba, 2017 ). The age, type of diet fed and physiological state of the sheep used may account for the

differences. The concentrations of serum albumin (36.96 to 38.43 g/L) were similar to the reported normal physiological

values of 27 to 37 g/L reported for sheep (The Merck Veterinary Manual, 2010). However, globulin concentrations (23.50

to 25.95 g/L) in the present study were lower than the reported normal physiological values of 39 to 60 g/L in sheep (The

Merck Veterinary Manual, 2010 ). The low globulin concentrations in the sheep may indicate low ability of the sheep to

resist infections or diseases. All the sheep used in the study were however healthy and did not show any signs of disease

throughout the study. The normal and similar total protein and albumin concentrations in sheep fed the various

supplements indicates that the inclusion of leaf meal and cassava peel - based supplements did not adversely influence

the availability of protein to the sheep, their immune status and ability to fight diseases. The range of values for total

cholesterol (1.40 to 1.50 mmol/L) was within the reported normal physiological range of 1.1 to 2.3 mmol/L in sheep (the

Merck Veterinary Manual, 2010 ). However, the concentrations of serum urea (range 8.71 to 9.67mmol/L) in the present

study was close to the normal physiological upper range value of 9.3 mmol/L reported for sheep (The Merck Veterinary

Manual, 2010 ), but lower than the values 13.26 to 16.32 mmol/L reported for West African Dwarf sheep fed basal diet of

rice straw and supplemented with varying levels of neem leaf meal concentrate diets (Dougba, 2017 ). The difference may

be attributed to the type of diet fed to sheep in these studies.

CONCLUSION

From the above studies, feed resources available to the small ruminant keepers can be used to prepare pelleted

supplements that are acceptable to sheep and help improve performance on low quality forages. Feeding these

supplements did not adversely affect the health and physiology of sheep as indicated by the blood parameters. These

supplements, which have high bulk density and long shelf life, can help prevent the major losses in ruminant production

during the dry season.

DECLARATIONS

Corresponding Author

E-mail: fobese@ug.edu.gh; ORCİD: 0000-0001-6747-4786

Authors’ Contribution

LA conceived the study, participated in the design of the study, contributed to data analysis and the write up of the

manuscript, MS participated in the data collection and contributed in data analysis and the write up of the manuscript, AM

was in involved the design and data analysis of the study and contributed to the write up of the manuscript. FO

participated in the design and coordination of the study, contributed to data analysis and the write up of the manuscript.

Conflict of interests

The authors have not declared any conflict of interests.

Acknowledgements

This project was made possible with financial support from the University of Ghana research fund and funds from

the AG Leventist Foundation.

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