The effect of garlic powder (Allium sativum) supplementation on quantitative carcass and non- carcass characteristics of West African Dwarf Rams was investigated. A total of 40 West African Dwarf yearling rams were randomly assigned to five dietary groups in a completely randomized design. Each group contained eight rams (two rams of four replicates) assigned separately to five dietary treatments having garlic powder as supplements at 0% (control, diet 1), 0.2% (diet 2), 0.4% (diet 3), 0.6% (diet 4) and 0.8% (diet 5) respectively. Rams in each replicate were housed in individual pen and fed with Panicum maximum at 0.2 kg/ram/day as basal diets and water was provided ad libitum, for a period of 12 weeks. The result showed that the dressing percentage varied among treatment groups with the highest value (55.76±1.82%) obtained from rams fed 4% garlic powder inclusion (treatment 3). The carcass characteristics significantly varied (p<0.05) among treatments. Also, dietary treatments had no significant (p>0.05) effect on the composition of the non-carcass components. Meat to bone ratio was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the flank cut of treatment 5 than cut-parts of other treatments. The study concluded that garlic powder (Allium sativum) supplementation increased carcass yield of West African Dwarf ram.
Effect of Garlic Powder (Allium sativum) Supplement on Blood Chemistry of West African Dwarf Rams
