Nutrient Composition of Some Unconventional and Local Feed Resources Available in Senegal and Recoverable in Indigenous Chickens or Animal Feeding

Abstract

This study was carried out to assess the nutrient composition of some unconventional and local feed resources available in Senegal so as to use them as protein supplement sources in the diets of indigenous chickens to enhance their productivity. Ten (10) unconventional and local ingredients from Senegal including leguminous leaves (Leuceana leucocephala, Cassia tora, Moringa oleifera, Adansonia digitata, Sesbania rostrata), cucurbit (Citrullus vulgaris) and roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) seeds, red and white cowpea (Vigna unguiculata seeds) and cockroaches (Blatta orientalis) were collected, sun-dried, processed into meal and analyzed for their chemical and macro-mineral composition using internationally established procedures. The results showed that the samples Dry Matter (DM) percent ranged from 89.3% (red cowpea) to 94.9% (C. vulgaris). The Crude Protein (CP) content ranged from 24.7% (white cowpea) to 61.9% (cockroaches meal), with A. digitata leaves having the lowest value (12.9%). Citrullus and Hibiscus seeds meal recorded the highest (38.8% and 18.9%) Ether Extract (EE) values, followed respectively by cockroaches (11.1%), Moringa (9.8%), Leuceana (6.4%) and Sesbania leaves meal (5.1%), while the others were below 4.5%. The crude fiber (CF) content was globally high in the leaves, ranging from 11.7% (M. oleifera) to 16.8% (C. tora) while that of seeds and cockroaches ranged from 1.9% (white cowpea) to 19% (Citrullus seeds). A. digitata leaves gave the highest ash content (25.2%), followed by Cassia (15.2%), Moringa (13.6%), Leuceana (11.4%) and Sesbania leaves (7.1%), while the others were below 5.6%. The metabolizable energy (ME) value calculated for seeds and cockroaches meal ranged from 3161 kcal/kg DM (cockroaches) to 4270 kcal/kg DM (C. vulgaris) and that of leaves from 1873 (A. digitata) to 2888.9 kcal/kg DM (M. oleifera). Cassia leaves contained the highest level of calcium (3.1%), followed by Adansonia and Leuceana (1.81%), Moringa and Sesbania leaves (1.41%), whilst cockroaches, Hibiscus and Citrullus seeds meal recorded respectively 0.93, 0.81 and 0.55% of phosphorus. These results showed that all the ingredients samples contained appreciable quantities of all dietary nutrients tested for which more or less make them partial or complete substitutes for the conventional feed sources.