PRODUCTION AND EVALUATION OF GOAT FEED FROM SOYBEAN CHAFF, CORN COB AND CORN HUSK USING WASTE TO WEALTH APPROACH

Livestock production in Nigeria, particularly small ruminant farming, faces significant challenges due to the high cost and limited availability of conventional feed ingredients such as maize and soybean meal, which account for 60–80% of total production expenses. This competition with human food demands has intensified feed scarcity and increased costs for small-scale farmers. Meanwhile, abundant agricultural residues—including corn cobs, corn husks, and soybean chaff—are often underutilized, burned, or discarded, contributing to environmental pollution and resource wastage. This study adopted a waste-to-wealth approach to produce and evaluate nutritious goat feed formulated from corn cobs, corn husks, and soybean chaff. The proximate composition of the raw materials was determined using standard AOAC (2019) methods. Three dietary treatments were formulated: Trial 1 (high soybean chaff inclusion), Trial 2 (balanced mixture of corn cobs, corn husks, and soybean chaff), and Trial 3 (commercial feed as control). The feeds were supplemented with molasses, common salt, and mineral–vitamin premix to enhance palatability and nutritional balance. An eight-week feeding trial was conducted using three growing goats (6–8 months old, average initial weight ≈15 kg) in a completely randomized design, following a seven-day adaptation period. Data on feed intake, body weight gain, average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were collected and analyzed using one-way ANOVA.