1.0 Introduction
The scarcity of conventional feeds has hindered the growth of the livestock industry in Nigeria. The food deficit problem is indeed more serious with protein supply when compared with the availability of calories. Shortage of protein, particularly those of animal origin is prevalent in most parts of Africa where it is estimated that on the average 10g of animal protein is consumed per day compared to a recommended daily intake of 35g (ILCA, 1980, FAO, 1997). According to Obioha (1992) and Ogini (2001), the level of consumption of meat and animal protein in Nigeria is estimated at about 8g per caput per day, about 20g less than the minimum requirement by the National Research Council of the United States of America.
Therefore, there is the need, to increase the production of such domestic animals as pigs and poultry which are conventional sources of animal protein. Pig production in particular represents one of the fastest ways of increasing animal protein, since pigs grow at a faster rate and are highly more prolific than cattle, sheep and goats. In growth rate pig is only surpassed by broilers (Holness, 2005). Apart from their high rate of reproduction, pigs and poultry are characterized by the best efficiency of nutrient transformation into high quality animal protein (Smith, 2001; Holness, 2005).
Apart from the poultry industry, pig farming has the highest quick returns on investment. The high cost of the conventional feedstuff most especially the protein supplement, necessitated the quest for locally available alternatives that can substitute for the conventional feedstuffs economically by reducing feeding cost, thereby making the pig enterprise a more profitable one (EL-Sabben et al., 1970;Fontenot,1971). The alternative cheap and available feedstuff to be considered in this study is Soy bean hull. Soybean hulls referred to as soy hull, soybean mill-run or soybean flakes are by-products of soybean milling industry which do not attract competition between man and animals. Soybean hull is readily available when compared to other alternative sources of feed ingredient.
Soybean hull has estimated feeding value of 74-80% of that of maize when included in moderate to high quantity in maize based diets (Esonu, 1998). It contains high level of potentially digestible fibre and can replace some or all grains in the diets of ruminants (Van Soest, 1985). Soybean hull contains 22.75% crude protein, 18.15% crude fibre, 14.60% ether extract, 8.0% ash and 20.90% nitrogen-free extract (Preston, 1989; Esonu et al., 1997; Esonu, 1998).
However the utilization of soybean hull in the feeding of monogastric animals is limited by the presence of such anti-nutritional factors as trypsin, chymotrypsin and amylase inhibitors, lipoxygenase, hemagglutinin, phytic acid and the toxin, soyin and must be heat-treated to destroy them (Ensminger et al., 1996; Enwere, 1998; Holness, 2005). Besides anti-nutritional factors, another limitation is its high fibre content. Pigs cannot fully utilize high fibre diets because they lack the digestive framework that can elaborately digest large amount of fibre. Although there is scarcity of information on the utilization of soybean hull, soybean hull has an acceptable proximate composition and occurs in relative abundance in all seasons, it should be exploited and evaluated for inclusion in livestock diets.
1.1 Aim and Objectives
This study is therefore; aimed at evaluating the growth performance, cost implication, blood parameters and carcass characteristics of weaner and grower pigs fed graded levels of soybean hull based diets. The major objectives of the study are as follows:
- To determine the effects of graded levels of soybean hull on performance of weaner and grower pigs.
- To determine the effects of graded levels of soybean hull on haematology, carcass and organ weights of grower pigs.
- To determine the optimum inclusion level of soybean hull in the diet of weaner and grower pigs.
- To determine the cost implication of feeding graded levels of soybean hull to weaner and grower pigs.
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