Effect of Fermented Cassava Peels on the Performance of West African Dwarf Goats in Ogun State

This study examines the effect of fermented cassava peel meal inclusion on growth performance and blood parameters of West African Dwarf goats in Ogun State, South West Nigeria. Cassava peel, generated as a large-volume by-product of cassava processing in Southwest Nigeria, has limited nutritional value in its raw form due to high fibre and residual cyanide content. Solid-state fermentation using Aspergillus niger can improve its crude protein content and reduce anti-nutritional factors, making it a potential supplement for ruminant diets. This study uses a completely randomised design with four treatment groups of five WAD goats each testing fermented cassava peel meal at 0, 15, 30, and 45 percent inclusion as a replacement for wheat bran in a basal diet. Growth performance including daily weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio, as well as blood urea nitrogen, packed cell volume, and haemoglobin, are measured over 84 days. Findings reveal that 30 percent fermented cassava peel inclusion maintains growth performance equivalent to the wheat bran control diet while reducing feed cost by 18 percent. Forty-five percent inclusion shows adequate performance in adult maintenance but not optimal for growing goats. Blood parameters remain within normal physiological ranges at all inclusion levels. Fermentation reduces HCN content from 42 to 6 parts per million in the 30 percent inclusion treatment, below the 10 parts per million safety threshold. The study concludes that fermented cassava peel at 30 percent inclusion is a viable cost-reducing feed ingredient for WAD goat production in Ogun State.

Keywords: fermented cassava peels, West African Dwarf goats, growth performance, feed cost, Ogun State.