Growth performance and blood profile of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats fed varying levels of treated sweet orange peels.

Fifteen West African Dwarf grower bucks of about 6-8 months of age and average weights of 8.39 kg were used in a 70-day study to assess the intake and blood profile of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats fed diets containing graded levels of treated sweet orange peel meal (TSOPM), in a completely randomized design. Sweet orange peels were collected from sweet orange retailers within Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. The peels were packed into synthetic bags, compressed, and allowed to ferment for 12 h before sun-drying. The sun-dried peels were crushed into a meal and used to compound four treatments diets which consisted of 0, 60, and 80% TSOPM, designated diets A, B, and C respectively. Results showed that there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) among the treatments in all the performance parameters except in the total forage intake values in which treatment A (19.74 kg) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than treatment B (21.77 kg) and treatment C (21.96 kg). But between treatment B and treatment C, there was no difference. Effect of treatments was also not apparent on the haematological indices measured, but the serum biochemical parameters showed significant difference (P < 0.05) among the treatments for total protein values. The total protein value for treatment C (8.02 g/dl) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than treatments A (7.10 g/dl) and B (6.62 g/dl). The study showed that treated sweet orange peel meal can be used up to 80% level to replace maize offal in the diets of goats without adverse effects on the performance blood indices.