Growth performance of goats fed diets containing varying levels of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Owing to the scarcity of feed during the dry season in most tropical regions of Africa, attention has been shifted to the use of aquatic plants which were regarded as waste and take a lot of effort to eradicate. This study therefore aimed to explore the potential of water hyacinth as alternative feed source for ruminants. Twenty four (24) West African Dwarf (WAD) goats with average body mass of 6.5 ± 0.22 kg were used in a 84 day feeding trial to determine the influence of whole Water Hyacinth (WH; Eichhornia crassipes) plant as alternative livestock feed resource. The goats were divided into four (4) groups of six (6) animals per group. Each group was randomly allotted to the four experimental diets containing 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% of WH, respectively, in a Completely Randomised Design. Results showed that supplemented E. crassipes plant influenced (p < 0.05) the growth performance characteristics of West African dwarf (WAD) goats. Five (5 %) percent inclusion of WH gave the highest (p < 0.05) weight gain, metabolic weight and dry matter intake whereas 10% inclusion of WH gave similar (p > 0.05) weight gain as the control. In addition, 5% percent inclusion of WH reduced (p < 0.05) the cost of production with high returns. On the other hand, with 10% inclusion we observed the highest (p < 0.05) packed cell volume, red blood cell count and haemoglobin concentration. The 15% WH inclusion resulted in an elevated (p < 0.05) serum albumin and cost per kilogram weight gain. It can be concluded that feeding WAD goats with WH up to 10% in their diets had favourable effects on growth performance, health and possibly immune response as well as profitability.