Effects of photoperiod on growth performances in female African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus) | IJAAR 2020

 

Authors

This research articles were written by Augustave Kenfack, Lavoisier Tadiesse Fonou, Constant Foda Fopa, Jemima Nounamo Guiekep, Ferdinand Ngoula, Bertin Narcisse Vemo, Astride Martine Tsambou,  and Sevérin Fonkem, from the institute of Department of Animals Science, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Science, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon and University of Bamenda, College of Technology, Bambili, Bamenda, Cameroon. and published by International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research | IJAAR

 Abstract

The present work aimed to investigate the effects of photo period on growth performances in captive African giant rat (AGR). It was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Dschang. Thus, twenty-eight animals with comparable weights were randomly assigned to four treatments T24 (24 hrs light/0 hr dark), T18 (18 hrs light/06 hrs dark), T12 (12 hrs light/12 hrs dark) and T0 (0 hr light/24 hrs dark). These animals were housed individually and fed ad libitum during four weeks. Food intake, body weight and daily weight gain were recorded weekly. At the end of the experiment, blood was collected and serum obtained was used to essay oxidative stress parameters such as malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). Results showed that increased photoperiod didn’t affect significantly (p>0.05) the growth performances. Nevertheless, higher food intake, live weight and daily weight gain were recorded in AGR enlighten compared to animals kept in dark conditions. It also appeared that, the lengthening of the photoperiod has induced a significant (p<0.05) enhancement of MDA, SOD and CAT concentrations. The findings of this study indicate that the lengthening of the photoperiod didn’t has effect on growth performances in AGR.

Introduction

In subtropical regions, malnutrition due to low meat consumption constitutes a main cause of infantile mortality and health problems in many adults. 1.3billion of people are concerned by breeding which provide 80% of the meat consumed in the world (Gbaguidi et al., 2011). Thus, breeding appears as a potential option to solve food imbalance in Africa (Steinfeld et al. 2008). In most countries, rodent production is an alternative for conventional meat production and constitutes an important income source for thousands of farmers (Fori,1998). African giant rat (AGR) is one of the most hunted rodents in tropical regions where they are still present. Its meats much appreciated. Indeed, in Nigeria, 71.4% of the population use this animal as food (Ajayi and Olawoye, 1974). In many regions of Africa, bush meat has always been an important cultural item and the main source of meat (A bernethy et al., 2013). The development of husbandry for those rodent species would be one of the easiest ways to increase animal production and help protect them against over hunting and extinction.AGR is nocturnal in the wild but, in captivity, they are mostly subjected to photo period that is completely different from what is observed naturally. It has been noticed that photo period can affect growth performances and induces oxidative stress in some animals. Indeed, Tavolaro et al. (2015) and Erdem etal. (2015) have reported that, long photo period(superior to 12 hr/day) induces an increase in feed in take, weight gain and abdominal fat in rats and ducks. Moreover, Schanbacher et al. (1982) showed abetter feed efficiency in ewe lamb exposed to along daily light. In addition, in poultry and fish it has been shown that increased photo period enhances growth performances (Olanrewaju et al., 2012, Veras et al.,2013). Dalal (2016) showed that dependent to species(short or long-day breeds) photo period constitutes a source of stress and stress is well-known to cause growth performances loss. Indeed, Yuan et al. (2007)showed that oxidative stress depresses growth performances in weaning pigs. Furthermore, it alters physiological functions and behavior leading to low growth.Therefore, considering AGR environment in captivity,photo period could be one of the major factor s necessitating a particular study to improve its breeding. It is the reason why the main objective of this study is to show whether photo period affects growth performances of captive AGR. Get Full articles by following the link

Effects of photo period on growth performances in female African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus)

 Citation Sample

A.Kenfack, L.T. Fonou, C.F. Fopa, J.N. Guiekep, F. Ngoula, B.N Vemo, A.M. Tsambou, S. Fonkem.  Effects of photoperiod on growth performances in female African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus). Int. J. Agron. Agri. Res. 17(4), 11-16. October 2020

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