Peri-Urban Small Ruminant Feeding in Ekiti State

This study appraised the socio-economic strata of small ruminant keepers in Ekiti State with emphasis on the feedstuffs fed to the animals. The following towns: Ado Ekiti, Ikole Ekiti, Itapa Ekiti, Ode Ekiti, Omuo Ekiti, Aramoko Ekiti, ljero Ekiti and Igbara Odo which represented the four geographical zones of Ekiti State were selected for this study. Ninety structured questionnaires were administered to small ruminant keepers in the towns at 10 per town. Data were collected on the socio-economic strata of the respondents with emphasis on the feedstuffs fed the animals. A proximate analysis was also carried out on some of the feedstuffs to determine their nutritive value. Descriptive statistical tools were used to interprete the data. About 78% of the respondents kept goats alone, 2% sheep alone while 20% kept a mixed stock of sheep and goat. About 54.4% of the respo initial stock from the local market, 28.9% had theirs as gifts and the rest from contractual agreement and government farms. The largest percentage (38.95) of the respondents had tertiary education, The predominant mode of production was the extensive system and the average flock size was 6 per household. The predominant feedstuffs fed to the animals were the household wastes and agro industrial by-products such as peels of cassava, yam, plantain and other by products of cassava processing. Proximate analysis showed that the predominant feedstuffs cannot satisfy the energy, protein and mineral requirements of the animals, hence the need for a supplementation with other feedstuffs such as Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena leucocephala which are readily available in the study area.