ABSTRACT Indigenous chicken contribute significantly as a source of animal protein but productivity in Kenya is low due to inadequate feed supply and high cost of commercial feed. Prosopis juliflora pods is an alternative local and nutritive feed resource that can be used as a feed ingredient in poultry to increase productivity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess performance of laying improved Indigenous Chicken (IC) fed on diets containing ground mature Prosopis juliflora pods (...
ABSTRACT Indigenous chicken (IC) depend on nutrients they scavenge for growth and egg production. Scavenging alone does not provide sufficient nutrients for both maintenance and high production. Feeding interventions to improve on productivity have been applied uniformly without considering the different growth phases though IC exhibit points of low and high rates of growth along their growth curves. A study was designed to provide a scientific basis for feeding strategies that exploit the p...
ABSTRACT This study was aimed at assessing the extent to which probiotics are used in the poultry feed industry in Kenya and their efficacies in broiler diets. In experiment 1, two surveys involving 100 Agro Vets and 36 Poultry farmers were carried out. 16 products were being sold as probiotics in Agro Vets in Kiambu County. The actual trade names of the probiotics are coded as Products 1 to 16 (see Appendix 3). It was found that 74.4% of the farmers used probiotics. The most commonly used b...
More than 78% of the households own livestock in South Sudan. Livestock, particularly cattle, goats and sheep, are an important social and economic asset in South Sudan. Goats are important and are predominant in most rural households with estimated population of 12.5 million heads. Despite the vast potential livestock contribution to the rural household development, livestock products (milk and meat) do not meet the local demands due to low productivity. The available seasonal feed reso...
ABSTRACT In South Sudan livestock is an important source of livelihood however, animal productivity is very low due to lack of adequate feed particularly in dry season. In this study five objectives were carried out. In objective 1, a questionnaire survey was conducted amongst livestock keepers and generally 25 most commonly browsed species were identified. The study indicate that, there is a wide range and diversity of browse species that could serve as important livestock feed. The study ev...
Aflatoxins (AFs) are some of the toxic and carcinogenic mycotoxins. Due to the high cost of most cereals and its competition for human food, chicken feeds are often formulated with mouldy and broken grains which are easily contaminated with mycotoxins. Kenya Bureau of Standards recommended 20ppb total AFs as the permissible level in poultry feed. The first objective of this study evaluated the effects of fermentation on the detoxification of AF contaminated maize flour using S. cerevisia...
ABSTRACT Livestock production is one of the major sources of income in Rwanda. Pigs are among preferred livestock due to their short generation interval and small space requirement. Feeds account for 65-70% of total production costs in pig rearing, which invariably affects profit margins. Therefore search for alternative feedstuffs that are locally available and affordable like brewers’ spent grains (BSG) can be used to feed pigs and reduce the cost of production. BSG is the first solid mat...
TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION AND RECOMMENDATION ............................................................... ii COPYRIGHT ..................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................. iv SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... v ...
ABSTRACT Use of conserved forages and proper ration formulation have great potential to bridge the gap in dairy nutrition and reduce seasonal variations in feed availability and milk yield. This study aimed at determining effects of various fodder conservation and ration formulation interventions on dairy performance in North rift, Central and Eastern regions of Kenya. Twelve farms from each intervention i.e. use of maize train and baled silage, production of silage with support from Service ...
ABSTRACT Feeding trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of graded levels of raw and cooked turmeric rhizome meal on the performance of broiler birds. Turmeric rhizome was washed with water and divided into two batches of 40kg each. The first batch was crushed, sundried for 3 days, ground to produce raw turmeric rhizome meal and bagged. The second batch was cooked for an hour, crushed with a roller and sun-dried for 3 days. Both the raw and cooked sundried turmeric rhizomes were then gr...
ABSTRACT Two experiments were conducted to determine the value of bitter kola as feed ingredient and antimicrobial agent for laying hens and growing rabbits. Vitamin C and mineral analysis of the bitter kola showed that it contained 0.028 mg/g magnesium, 0.025mg/g calcium, 0.161mg/g potassium, 0.057mg/g phosphorus, 0.282mg/g sodium, 0.400mg/g chlorine, 0.073mg/g sulphur, 0.02mg/g Fe, 0.003mg/g zinc, 0.05 mg/g cupper, 0.012mg/g manganese and 11.43mg/100g vitamin C. In the first experiment, ...