Carcass, Organ and Pathological Characteristics of Grower Pigs Fed Cassava Peel Meal

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of replacing maize with Cassava Peel Meal (CPM) on the carcass, organ and pathological characteristics of growing pigs. Twenty-four 16-week old pigs of Landrace x Large White breed were raised on four experimental diets where CPM replaced maize at 0, 10, 20 and 30 percent levels. The diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous and isoenergetic containing 16 % CP and 12.08 MJME/kg. Each diet was fed to a group of six pigs. Results indicated that carcass weight and backfat thickness decreased as level of CPM in the diets increased. Heart, Kidney, Liver and Spleen weights (expressed as percentage of body weight) were significantly higher at the 30 percent level of CPM inclusion. Likewise, Kidney of pigs fed the 30 percent CPM diet showed degeneration, necrosis and dilatation of the tubules. Liver of same pigs had bile duct dilatation, fibrosis and thickening of the interlobular septa. It was concluded that 20 percent of the maize content of the diets of grower pigs can be replaced by CPM without any deleterious effect on the carcass, organ and pathological characteristics.