Effects of the concentration and nature of total dissolved solids in drinking water on feed intake, nutrient digestion, energy balance, methane emission, ruminal fermentation, and blood constituents in different breeds of young goats and hair sheep.

Understanding how different livestock species and breeds respond to consumption of brackish water could improve usage of this resource. Therefore, Angora, Boer, and Spanish goat doelings and Dorper, Katahdin, and St. Croix ewe lambs (6 animals per animal type [AT]; initial age = 296 ± 2.

Comparative study of HA and HNB staining RT-LAMP assays for peste des petits ruminants virus detection in West African Dwarf goats.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) cause severe economic losses to many countries of the world where the disease is endemic. It has been targeted for global eradication by 2030 following the successful eradication of rinderpest in 2011. The proposed eradication program would benefit from efficient and relatively reliable diagnostic tools for early PPR virus (PPRV) detection.

Influence of in ovo arginine feeding on hatching traits and post-hatch performance of FUNAAB-Alpha chickens in two housing types.

The demand for animal protein in Nigeria is so high that introduction of new management techniques to improve poultry production is relevant. This study investigated the effects of in ovo administration of arginine on hatching traits and post-hatch performance of FUNAAB-Alpha chickens in two housing types. A total of 528 hatching eggs of FUNAAB-Alpha chickens were used for the study for 11 weeks.

Performance and Parasitology of Semi-intensively Managed West African Dwarf Sheep Exposed to Gastrointestinal Helminth Infected Paddocks and Varied Protein-energy Feeds.

Background: The performance and parasitology of semi-intensively managed West African dwarf (WAD) lambs were evaluated following exposure to gastrointestinal helminth infected paddock and varied protein-energy feeds.

Methods: Twenty four lambs obtained from the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics and brought to Directorate of University farm (DUFARM) of Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun state, Nigeria, where the research was carried out in 2014, were grouped into four each containing six animals based on different energy-protein feed combination thus; group 1(G1) low energy low protein, group 2 (G2) low energy high protein, group 3 (G3) high energy low protein and group 4 (G4) high energy high protein. Experimental animals were supplemented with concentrate feed after grazing on daily in a nematode infected paddock.

Implications of Ebola virus disease on wildlife conservation in Nigeria.

The recent Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in some West African countries spanning from late 2013 and currently on as of 13th March, 2015 is the most widespread and fatal with human mortality that has surpassed all previous outbreaks. The outbreak has had its toll on conservation of endangered species. This portends danger for the wild fauna of the country if proactive measures are not taken to prepare grounds for evidence-based assertions concerning the involvement of wild species.

Physiological and haematological indices suggest superior heat tolerance of white-coloured West African Dwarf sheep in the hot humid tropics.

Coat colour contributes to physiological adaptation in mammals and mediates response to thermal stress. Twenty-four adult West African Dwarf sheep of both sexes and with different coat colour types were used in this study. We measured rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and pulse rate (PR) before sunrise and sunset during the late dry season (January-March) and early rainy season (April-June) as well as packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, plasma sodium (Na(+)) and potassium (K(+)).