ABSTRACT African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious viral disease that affect domestic pigs and it is characterized by fever, blotching of skin, and haemorrhage of the lymph nodes, internal organs and the gastrointestinal tract. The prevention and cure of ASF will depend on management practices by farmers, observance of biosecurity measures, the immune system of the pig, and the control of secondary infections. This study was therefore, carried out to determine the knowledge and manage...
ABSTRACT The potential benefits of local chickens to the rural economy is compromised annually by regular outbreaks of Newcastle Disease (ND). Every year over 80% of the local chicken population is lost to ND, depriving the rural people of the much needed protein and income from chicken. In an effort to reduce the effect of Newcastle Disease on local chicken production, this study was conducted to determine if there is variation in the genetic resistance to NDV in three local chicken ecotype...
ABSTRACT Relative performance of breed groups, additive and heterotic effects on milk production, reproduction and calf growth traits in Jersey x West African Shorthorn (WAS) and Jersey x Sokoto Gudali (GUD) crossbred cattle were studied using sixteen years field records kept at the Agricultural Research Station, Legon. The genotypes consisted of WAS; 1/2 Jersey, 1/2 WAS (WAS Fj); 3/4 Jersey, 1/4 WAS (WAS Be); GUD; 1/2 Jersey, 1/2 GUD (GUD Fj) ; 3/4 Jersey, 1/4 GUD (GUD Be). Milk production t...
ABSTRACT An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of plasma concentrations of the metabolic hormones [Growth hormone (GH), insulin and insulin-like growth factor –I (IGFI)] and nutritional metabolites (glucose, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, globulin, urea and creatinine) on the resumption of postpartum ovarian activity in sixteen Friesian-Sanga crossbred cows at the Animal Research Institute’s Frafraha station. Also, correlation among the metabolic hormones and the nut...
ABSTRACT In Ghana, the local chicken and commercial cohorts are managed under different production systems that appear to expose local chicken usually raised under the extensive system, to higher risk of infectious diseases as compared to the exotic cohorts that are raised in confinement. The key question is, will raising these birds under identical conditions result in corresponding reduction in the prevalence of Salmonella infection in the local chicken to levels prevailing in the exotic ch...
ABSTRACT The intestinal microbiota is known to affect their host either beneficially or harmfully. Efforts have, therefore, been put into identifying and studying the microbial community in the gastrointestinal tract of livestock. Grasscutter is a promising micro livestock species with a short history of domestication, whose intestinal microflora is yet to be explored. Among the intestinal microflora, lactic acid bacteria confer probiotic benefits and are thus of special interest. This study ...
ABSTRACT The Hipposideros caffer complex consists of several taxa whose taxonomic relationships are not fully resolved. Genetic diversity and skull morphology of Ghanaian populations of the Noack’s leaf-nosed bat Hipposideros aff. ruber (Noack, 1893) attributed to mitochondrial D lineages were investigated using nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and geometric morphometrics. Cytb sequences of H. aff. ruber populations from Ghana were compared to other available West Af...
ABSTRACT Acaricides in tick control, had been thought to be in Africa the panacea for over a century. Environmental and economic constraints, development of acaricide-resistant strains due to acaricide misuse, have brought about the need for an alternative tick control strategy. The use of tick resistant cattle has then been advocated and echoed in the USA and Australia where it got its full expansion. In Africa, few works have been undertaken on tick resistance despite the fact that many tic...
ABSTRACT OF THE STUDY Dairying is a young and developing industry in G hana, and one o f the m ajor problem s it faces is the low dem and o f the m ilk produced. This is partly due to public concerns over the safety and quality o f the m ilk produced, and also the hygienic practices o f informal agents. However, the extent o f risks posed to hum an health by consum ption o f m ilk and dairy products in the country is not well docum ented. This project w as therefore carried out to study the ...
ABSTRACT This research was carried out to determine the growth performance, carcass characteristics and selected blood parameters of broilers fed increasing levels of corn cobs (CC) as a replacement (50% or 100%) for wheat bran (WB), with or without fibre degrading enzymes (E). A total of 175 day-old chicks were used in this trial which lasted 42 days. Birds were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments in a completely randomised design. Treatments were labelled as T1 (0% CC), T2 (3% CC),...
ABSTRACT Reproductive inefficiency is a major challenge in rabbit production. Leaf meals such as Moringa oleifera rich in phytochemicals have been used to enhance reproductive performance in cattle and catfish. Information on the use of Moringa oleifera Leaf Meal (MoLM) to enhance reproductive efficiency in rabbits and its effect on organs has not been adequately documented. Therefore, the reproductive response of rabbits to supplemental MoLM was assessed. In a 24-week trial, sixty rabbits we...
ABSTRACT Conventional feedstuffs have not met the increasing demand of livestock industry. Rice plant, a food-feed cereal, can provide grains for humans and fodder for livestock. The potential of Rice Straw (RS) as fodder for sheep in Nigeria has not been adequately documented. Therefore, the potential of RS as fodder for West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep was investigated in this study. Using Lattice design, 49 rice varieties of five cultivars: Interspecific Upland (IU), Interspecific Lowland (I...
ABSTRACT Inorganic feed additives are commonly used in small ruminant production to promote growth. However, the problem of bioaccumulation of chemical residues in animals fed inorganic feed additives has necessitated the search for organic alternatives such as Fossil Shell Flour (FSF). There is dearth of information on the use of fossil shell flour as a feed additive in the diet of small ruminants. Hence, growth performance of West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep fed diets supplemented with FSF we...
ABSTRACT Spermatozoon apoptosis in extended semen is a challenge to artificial insemination in poultry production. Chicken spermatozoa undergo damages in vitro due to lipid peroxidation among other factors. Extender supplementation with exogenous antioxidants could mitigate lipid peroxidation and improve semen quality. However, inclusion of antioxidants such as selenium and α-tocopherol in semen extender to improve quality of sperm cells has not been adequately documented. Therefore, effects...
ABSTRACT Conventional vegetable protein ingredients in poultry feed are costly and relatively scarce. Moringa oleifera Seed Meal (MSM) is an oil seed rich in protein, which can be exploited as an alternative vegetable protein source. However, the potential of MSM as a protein source for broiler production has not been adequately documented. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the utilisation of MSM as a protein source in the diets of broiler chickens. Moringa seeds were harvest...