Abstract
Concentrate supplementation influences growth performance and rumen microbial ecology in growing West African Dwarf bucks. This study evaluated the effects of Panicum maximum and varying levels of concentrate supplementation on the growth performance and rumen microbial populations of West African Dwarf (WAD) bucks. Nine healthy WAD bucks aged 6–9 months with an average initial body weight of 6.31 kg were randomly allotted to three dietary treatments in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD), with three animals per treatment. Treatment 1 (T1) received Panicum maximum only, Treatment 2 (T2) received Panicum maximum plus 800 g concentrate/head/day, while Treatment 3 (T3) received Panicum maximum plus 1000 g concentrate/head/day. The feeding trial lasted 84 days. Final body weight increased from 8.56 kg in T1 to 10.48 kg in T2 and 11.82 kg in T3, while total weight gain increased from 2.28 to 4.17 and 5.47 kg, respectively. Average daily weight gain increased from 27.14 to 49.64 and 65.12 g/day, while feed conversion ratio improved from 16.60 to 12.62 and 11.23. Bacterial populations increased, whereas fungal populations declined with concentrate supplementation. Supplementation with 1000 g concentrate/head/day improved growth performance and feed utilization while favourably modifying rumen bacterial populations, although higher concentrate levels reduced fungal abundance.