Nutrient Status of Meat Content of Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) in Nigeria

The study assessed the proximate composition, mineral contents and in vitro digestibility of meat of cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) found in Federal College of Agriculture, Nigeria. It was scarified, defeathered, dissected, oven dried, ground and analyzed using standard methods. The life weight of the samples was 300?10.20 g. The sample contained 76.72% DM crude protein, 0.14% crude fibre and ash 6.41%. It had low level of crude fat (2.14%). The energy level was 365.46 Kcal. The concentration of Na, K, Ca, Mg and Fe were found to be high whereas Zn, Mn, Cu and Pb wee low. The digestibility, biological value, net protein utilization and net protein value were 65.24?1.41%, 52.19?0.84, 34.05?0.62 and 26.12?0.50, respectively. The nutritive composition of the sample compared with other sources of conventional protein and minerals. Based on these results, it is suggested that nutritional qualities of cattle egret should be harnessed.