Effect of inclusion of tossign (Thymus serrulatus) in concentrate mix supplementation on performance and sensory quality of meat of Menz sheep

The experiment was conducted to determine feed intake, digestibility, body weight change, carcass characteristics, and sensory quality of meat of Menz sheep supplemented with a concentrate mix and combinations of different proportions of tossign (Thymus serrulatus). Twenty yearling intact male Menz sheep were divided according to their initial body weight into five blocks of four animals in a randomized block design, and treatments were assigned randomly to each sheep within each block. The treatments were a basal diet of hay alone (T1) and supplemented with 300 g concentrate mix (T2), 200 g concentrate mix?+?100 g tossign (T3), and 100 g concentrate mix?+?200 g tossign (T4) on a dry matter basis. The results indicated that supplementation of tossign together with concentrate mix significantly increased (P?<?0.001) feed intake and improved DM and nutrient digestibility compared to the non-supplemented group. Supplementation of tossign with concentrate significantly improved (P?<?0.001) daily weight gain, feed conversion efficiency, and carcass characteristics of sheep compared to the non-supplemented group. Flavor and aroma scores of meat samples of sheep in T3 and T4 were significantly higher (P?<?0.001) than the corresponding values in T1 and T2. The scores for tenderness, juiciness, and degree of marbling of meat samples of sheep were significantly higher (P?<?0.001) in T3 and T4 compared to meat samples of sheep in T1. Inclusion of small amounts of tossign as additive in concentrate mix supplementation can improve the sensory quality of meat of Menz sheep.     

Effect of replacing concentrate feed with leaves of Oldman saltbush (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Atriplex nummularia</Emphasis>) on feed intake,weight gain,and carcass parameters of highland sheep fed on wheat straw in northern Ethiopia

Atriplex nummularia (oldman saltbush) is widely planted on salt-affected land to provide a vegetative cover, which can be used as an alternative feed resource. The study was conducted to evaluate the replacement of commercial concentrate with oldman saltbush (SB) leaf on the feed intake, live weight gain, and carcass parameters of local sheep. Twenty-five sheep with an age of 6 months and weighting 14.60?±?2.47 kg were used in randomized complete block design and distributed into five equal groups, with five animals each. The selected sheep were fed with the dietary treatments for 2 weeks for adaptation and continued until the end of the study, which lasted for 90 days. In the control treatment (SB-0), sheep were fed 100% concentrate mix, while in SB-5, SB-10, SB-15, and SB-20, 5, 10, 15, and 20% of the concentrate mix was replaced by SB, respectively. Wheat straw and water were given at ad libitum throughout the experiment period. Data on feed intake and live weight gain were recorded daily and weekly, respectively, for 90 days. Three animals from each treatment were slaughtered for carcass analysis. Atriplex nummularia leaf (Oldman saltbush) contained 92.02% dry matter (DM), 21.99% crude protein (CP), 24.77% ash, 58.27% neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and 26.56% acid detergent fiber (ADF). Dry matter intake, live weight gain, and carcass parameter were not statistically different among the treatments. Result indicated that concentrate feed can be replaced with Atriplex nummularia leaf up to 20% in sheep diet without negative effect on growth performance and carcass characteristics.     

Effect of substitution of concentrate mix with Sesbania sesban on feed intake, digestibility, body weight change, and carcass parameters of Arsi-Bale sheep fed a basal diet of native grass hay

An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of substitution of concentrate mix with Sesbania sesban on feed intake, digestibility, average daily gain (ADG), and carcass parameters of Arsi-Bale sheep. The experiment employed 25 male sheep with mean (±standard error) initial body live weight (BLW) of 19.1?±?0.09 kg. The experiment consisted of 7 days of digestibility and 90 days of feeding trials followed by carcass evaluation. The experiment employed a randomized complete block design with five treatments and five blocks. Treatments comprised of grass hay alone fed ad libitum (GHA; control), GHA?+?100 % concentrate mix (CM) consisting of wheat bran and noug seed cake at a ratio of 2:1 (0 S. sesban), GHA?+?67 % CM?+?33 % S. sesban (33 S. sesban), GHA?+?33 % CM?+?67 % S. sesban (67 S. sesban), and GHA?+?100 % S. sesban (100 S. sesban). Total dry matter intake (DMI) was higher (p?<?0.001) for sheep in 0 S. sesban–100 S. sesban (800–821 g/day) compared to sheep in control (611 g/day). However, the effect of S. sesban inclusion (0 S. sesban–100 S. sesban) on total DMI was quadratic, and DMI declined after 67 S. sesban. Digestibility of DM, organic matter (p?<?0.01), and crude protein were higher (p?<?0.001) in supplemented group compared to the control. ADG, feed conversion efficiency (ADG/DMI), slaughter BLW, hot carcass weight, and total edible offals were higher (p?<?0.05–0.001) for sheep in 0 S. sesban–100 S. sesban than those in control. Increased level of S. sesban inclusion, in general, reduced growth and carcass parameters in this study. However, there was no difference between 0 S. sesban and 33 S. sesban in most parameters studied. Thus, it can be concluded that S. sesban could substitute a concentrate when it accounted for up to 33 % of the mix.     

Performance of Arsi-Bale sheep fed urea treated maize cob as basal diet and supplemented with graded levels of concentrate mixture

The experiment was conducted using 20 yearling intact male Arsi-Bale sheep with a mean body weight of 20.56?±?0.45 (mean?±?SD) to investigate the performance and economic benefit of graded levels of concentrate supplementation to urea-treated maize cob (UTMC)-based diet. The experiment consisted of 7 days of digestibility trial and subsequent 90 days of feeding trial. Before the commencement of the experiment, sheep were vaccinated against common infectious diseases, dewormed, and disinfected against internal and external parasites, respectively. The experimental design was randomized complete block design. The sheep were grouped into five blocks of four animals based on their initial body weight, and one animal from each block was randomly assigned to one of the four treatments. The treatments included ad libitum feeding of UTMC (T1) and supplementation with a concentrate mixture composed of wheat bran (WB) and noug seed cake (NSC) in 2:1 ratio, which were offered at 150 g (T2), 250 g (T3), and 350 g (T4) DM/head/day. The CP content of the UTMC was 9.3% on DM basis. The daily DM intake of UTMC was higher (P?<?0.001) for T4 (614.6 g) compared to T1 (505.1 g), T2 (538.9 g), and T3 (590.3 g). Total DM intake was higher (P?<?0.001) for supplemented treatments T2 (688.4 g), T3 (844.1 g), and T4 (966.9 g). Supplementation did not improve (P?>?0.05) digestibility of DM, OM, NDF, and ADF, except CP digestibility which was significant (P?<?0.001) across treatments. Supplementation increased (P?<?0.001) final body weight (FBWT), feed conversion efficiency (FCE), and average daily weight gain (ADG). The average daily gain (ADG) was highest (P?<?0.001) in T4 (80.8?±?7.74 g/day) followed by T3 (33.3?±?7.74 g/day) and T2 (23.1?±?0.95 kg) whereas the un-supplemented animals lost about 9.2 g/day. The highest total return, net income, and marginal rate of return were observed in higher level supplemented sheep than the control. Therefore, T4 improved biological performance and marginal rate of return than the other treatments and can be considered as better alternative feed supplement in UTMC-based feeding of Arsi-Bale sheep in Ethiopia.     

Influence of age at entry and level of concentrate feeding on growth and carcass characteristics of feedlot-finished Tanzanian long-fat-tailed sheep

A 4?×?3 factorial experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of age at entry to feedlot (AEF) and levels of concentrate feeding (LCF) on body weight gain, feed utilization and killing out characteristics of Tanzanian long-fat-tailed castrate sheep. The AEF points were 9, 12, 15 and 18 months, designated as AEF9, AEF12, AEF15 and AEF18, and the LCF were 50, 75 and 100 % of ad libitum concentrate intake designated as LCF50, LCF75 and LCF100, the last representing ad libitum concentrate intake with 10 % refusal rate. Grass hay as basal diet was offered ad libitum to each sheep. Daily feed intake and weekly live weight were recorded for a period of 84 days. Animals were slaughtered and carcass and non-carcass parameters were recorded. Dry matter intake (DMI) of hay decreased while DMI of concentrate increased (p?<?0.01) with increasing LCF. Daily gain in high level (LCF100) was 93.1 g/day, almost twofold higher than that in low level (LCF50) of feeding (39 g/day). Overall dressing percentage ranged from 40.7 to 46.5 % and increased with increasing AEF. The proportion of carcass bone decreased (p?<?0.05) with increasing AEF while that of fat increased (p?<?0.05) with increasing LCF. Age at entry × level of concentrate feeding interaction was detected for DMI, feed conversion ratio (FCR), slaughter body weight (SBW), muscle/bone ratio and bone (as % cold carcass weight (CCW)), but the effect was not regular. Entering fattening at 18th month seems too late, hence to get in the shortest time the highest output slaughter and carcass weights, fattening should start latest at 15 month.     

Yeast mixture of liquid beer and cassava pulp with rice straw for the growth of dairy heifers

This study was conducted to determine the effects of mixtures of liquid brewer’s yeast (LBY) and cassava pulp (CVP) with rice straw (RS) on feed intake, digestibility, rumen fermentation, and growth of dairy heifers. Sixteen Holstein crossbred heifers (13.8?±?1.6 months old, 210?±?23 kg body weight (BW)) were randomly allocated to four feeding treatments with four replications, which were 0:0:100 (RS), 0:70:30 (0%LBY), 20:50:30 (20%LBY), and 50:20:30 (50%LBY), respectively, for LBY/CVP/RS on a fresh matter basis. The heifers were offered conventional concentrate at 1.5% initial body weight daily and fed the treatment diets ad libitum. Average daily gain and feed intake were not significantly different among the treatments. The heifers fed 50%LBY had the highest crude protein (CP) intake and DM, OM, and CP digestibility (P?<?0.05). The ruminal pH did not differ significantly among treatments, while NH₃-N was the highest (P?<?0.05) in 50%LBY. Total volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations and the molar proportion of each VFA were not significantly different among the treatments. Blood urea nitrogen concentrations of 50%LBY were the highest among the treatments (P?<?0.05). The results indicated that 50%LBY improved CP digestibility.     

Feeding value of different levels of malt sprout and katikala atella on nutrient utilization and growth performance of sheep fed basal diet of Rhodes grass hay

Nonconventional agro-industrial by-products such as traditional liquor residues (locally called katikala atella) are widely used by livestock farmers in Ethiopia. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the supplementary value of katikala atella and malt sprout (MS) on performance of sheep fed a basal diet of Rhodes grass hay. Thirty intact yearling male sheep with an average initial body weight of 17.4?±?0.74 kg (mean?±?SD) were assigned to the treatments in a completely randomized block design: atella alone (T1), 75 % atella?+?25 % malt sprout (MS) (T2), 50 % atella?+?50 % MS (T3), 25 % atella?+?75 % MS (T4), MS alone (T5), and Rhodes grass hay alone (T6). Grass hay was fed ad libitum to all treatments. The total dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) intakes of sheep fed T4, T5, and T3 diets were the highest (P?<?0.05), while sheep receiving T6 had the lowest DM intake. The highest (P?<?0.05) total crude protein (CP) intake was for sheep fed T5 diet, while the lowest was for those fed T6 diet. Sheep receiving T3 diet had higher (P?<?0.05) DM, OM, CP, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility as compared with those fed T1, T2, and T6 diets. Sheep supplemented with 50–100 % malt sprout had similar (P?>?0.05) DM, OM, CP, NDF, and ADF digestibility. The highest (P?<?0.05) average daily gain was for sheep fed T3, T4, and T5 diets, while sheep in T6 lost body weight. Sheep fed T5 diet had the highest (P?<?0.05) nitrogen retention, while those fed T6 diet had the lowest. The study has shown that a mixture diet consisting of equal parts of katikala atella and malt sprout (T3) are found to be superior in most of the required nutrient characteristics.     

Body weight change of Abergelle breed and Abergelle crossbred goats fed hay supplemented with different level of concentrate mixture

The experiment was conducted at Sekota District using 36 intact yearling males of pure Abergelle breed and Abergelle crossbred goats (50%) with a mean live weight of 18.92?±?0.72 kg (mean?±?SE). The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the effect of different levels of concentrate mixture supplementation on feed intake, live weight gain, and economic gain of the breeds. Goats were blocked based on initial body weight and were randomly assigned to the dietary treatments. The experimental design was a 2?×?3 factorial in RCBD (randomized complete block design). The treatments included ad libitum feeding of local grass hay and supplementation with three levels (184, 368, and 552 g/day) of concentrate mixture. The experiment consisted of 90 days of feeding. Daily, total dry matter and CP (crude protein) intakes were affected by diet and genotype (P?<?0.01). Significant decrease (P?<?0.001) in hay intake was observed as the level of the supplement increased. Besides, substitution rate increased with increasing levels of supplementation. Average daily body weight gains were significantly impacted only by diet. Animals fed on 184 significantly lower weights, while nonsignificant difference was observed in live weight gain between 368 and 552 supplemented group. Supplementation of 368 concentrate mix significantly improved (P?<?0.05) feed intake, daily weight gain, and feed conversion efficiency. Supplementation of 368 g/day had showed significantly higher net return for both goat breeds. However, the Abergelle breed was significantly better in net profit and sensitivity than the crossbreed. Both genotypes performed better with the diet containing 368 g/day than that with 184 and 552 g/day of concentrate supplementation.     

Effects of feeding sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) vines as a supplement on feed intake, growth performance, digestibility and carcass characteristics of Sidama goats fed a basal diet of natural grass hay

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of substituting sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam] vines for concentrate on growth performance, digestibility, and carcass characteristics. Thirty yearling bucks (15.3?±?1.64 kg) were assigned into six treatments in a randomized complete block design: natural grass hay alone (T1) or supplemented with 100 % sweet potato vines (SPV) (T2), 65 % SPV?+?35 % concentrate (T3), 35 % SPV?+?65 % concentrate (T4), and 100 % concentrate (T5) on dry matter (DM) basis. Supplemented goats (T2, T3, T4, and T5) consumed higher (p?<?0.001) total DM (553, 567, 505, and 515 g/day), respectively, when compared to the nonsupplemented (T1) goats (349 g/day). The crude protein (CP) intake (32.0, 48.6, 54.7, and 69.2 g/day) increased with increasing levels of the concentrate in the diet for T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively. The DM digestibility in T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively, was higher (P?<?0.01) (0.69, 0.72, 0.72, and 0.74) than in T1 (0.56). Apparent digestibility of CP was observed to be higher (P?<?0.001) in T3, T4, T5 (0.78, 0.83, and 0.88) when compared to the bucks in T2 (0.60). Higher (P?<?0.001) daily weight gain (31.2, 46.4, 48.6, and 47.6 g/day) were recorded for T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively, whereas the nonsupplemented goats lost weight (?19.5 g/day). Slaughter weight, empty body weight, hot carcass weight, dressing percentage, rib-eye muscle area, and total edible offals were higher (P?<?0.05) in supplemented goats compared with nonsupplemented ones. Therefore, it could be concluded that sweet potato vine can replace the conventional concentrate and could be fed with poor quality hay to prevent body weight loss of animal in the absence of other feed supplements.     

Breeding practices,growth, and carcass potential of fat-tailed Washera sheep breed in Ethiopia

On-farm survey of farmers' breeding practices, breeding objectives, and selection criteria and on-station feedlot performance evaluation of Washera sheep were undertaken in Ethiopia. The survey revealed that most (79.8%) of the farmers had no breeding ram. The mating system was predominantly uncontrolled. A majority (75.5%) of the sheep owners reported that they herded their sheep flock by mixing with other livestock species mainly with cattle. During grazing, 44.6% of the farmers mix their sheep flock with neighboring sheep flocks. The major sheep production objective was to generate income from the sale of live sheep. Fast growth, appearance, coat color, and pedigree performance were important ram selection criteria, respectively. Ability to breed at early age, pedigree information, mothering ability, and lambing interval were important selection criteria for ewe, respectively. The on-station performance study involved evaluation of feedlot gains and carcass production under five levels of feeding regimes (300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 g day⁻¹ of concentrate feed) for a period of 93 days. The results indicated that the feedlot growth and carcass performance of Washera sheep were very high, with average daily weight gains of up to 126 g and carcass weight of 16 kg, with the optimal level of supplementation for Washera sheep being at 500 g of concentrate per day for a period of 93 days.     

Practice on improving fattening local cattle production in Vietnam by increasing crude protein level in concentrate and concentrate level

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of crude protein (CP) level in concentrate (experiment 1) and concentrate level (experiment 2) on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen (N) retention, ruminal pH and NH₃-N concentration and average daily gain (ADG) of Vietnamese local fattening cattle. Animals (24 cattle, initial live weight (LW) 150.3?±?11.8 kg in experiment 1 and 145.1?±?9.8 kg in experiment 2) were allotted based on LW to one of four treatments in a randomised complete block design. In experiment 1, concentrate with four levels of CP (10, 13, 16 and 19 %) was fed at 1.5 % of LW. In experiment 2, concentrate was fed at 1.0, 1.4, 1.8 and 2.2 % of LW. In both experiments, roughage was 5 kg/day native grass and ad libitum rice straw (fresh basis). Results showed that the CP level in concentrate significantly affected dry matter (DM) intake (P?<?0.05), N retention, ADG and ruminal NH₃-N concentration (P?<?0.01), but it had no significant effect on DM, organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) digestibility (P?>?0.05), whereas CP digestibility increased (P?<?0.001) along with the CP level. DM intake, N retention and ADG increased (P?<?0.001) linearly with concentrate intake. DM and CP digestibility were not significantly affected by concentrate intake (P?>?0.05). OM digestibility and NH₃-N concentration increased linearly (P?<?0.05), whereas NDF digestibility and ruminal pH declined linearly with increased concentrate consumption (P?<?0.01). These results indicate that 16 % CP in concentrate and feeding concentrate at the rate of 2.2 % of LW are recommendable for fattening local cattle in Vietnam.     

Tagasaste (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chamaecytisus palmensis</Emphasis>) leaf supplementation to enhance nutrient intake and production performance of sheep in the Ethiopian highlands

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of supplementing increasing levels of dried tagasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) leaf on the nutrition and performance of sheep fed a basal diet of barley straw. The study had four treatments, which involved supplementation of dried tagasaste leaf at 100, 200, 300, and 400 g/day. Twenty-four yearling Menz sheep (weight 17 ± 0.83 kg) were assigned to one of the four treatments in a randomized complete block design. The experiment comprised a feeding trial lasting for 90 days, a digestibility trial, and carcass evaluation using all animals. Samples of the feed consumed, refused, and feces were analyzed for nutrients. Intake and digestibility of dry matter (DM) and nutrients increased linearly (P < 0.001) as tagasaste supplementation increased from 100 to 400 g/day. Similarly, average daily body weight gain increased linearly (P < 0.001) from 20 to 73 g/day, feed conversion efficiency from 0.04 to 0.10, and dressing percentage from 40 to 48%, as the supplementation increased from 100 to 400 g/day. Proportion of tagasaste leaf in the diet increased from 20 to 50%, while the ratio of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) to crude protein (CP) decreased from 7.9 to 5.3, as the level of supplementation increased. It was thus concluded that supplementation of dried tagasaste leaf up to 50% of the diet DM, resulting in a NDF:CP ratio of 5.3, produces no deleterious effects on the performance of sheep, and inclusion to this level can be applied for superior growth performance and carcass yield in sheep fed crop residue-based diets.     

Effect of palm kernel cake as protein source in a concentrate diet on intake, digestibility and live weight gain of goats fed Napier grass

The effects of palm kernel cake (PKC) as a protein source in a concentrate diet (comprising 35 % crushed maize, 30 % rice bran, 32 % PKC, 2 % vitamin mineral premix and 1 % salt) were examined on intake, live weight (LW) gain and digestibility in female goats (average LW of 12.4?±?2.6 kg). Four goats were randomly allocated to each of the four treatment diets: (a) Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) offered ad libitum (T1), (b) T1 + concentrate at 0.5 % of LW (T2), (c) T1 + concentrate at 1.0 % of LW (T3) and (d) T1 + concentrate at 2.0 % of LW (T4). A 7-day digestibility trial and an 82-day growth experiment were conducted. No differences were observed among diets for intakes of roughage dry matter (DM), total DM, organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF). The crude protein (CP) intake increased (P?<?0.05) as the level of concentrate in the diets increased. Goats fed the T2, T3 and T4 diets gained 10.2, 34.1 and 52.5 g/head/day, respectively, while the control group (T1) lost weight (?12.7 g/head/day). The apparent digestibilities of DM, OM and CP were similar (P?>?0.05) among treatments. The digestibility of dietary NDF decreased (P?<?0.05) with increasing levels of concentrate, but there was no significant (P?>?0.05) difference between T2 and T3 diets. Supplementing a basal diet of Napier grass with PKC-based concentrate improved CP intake and LW gain. The PKC-based concentrate diet can therefore be exploited for the use of local feed resources for goat production; however, further research is required to achieve the best growth response.     

Carcass characteristics and meat quality of lambs fed babassu cake (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Orbignya speciosa</Emphasis>) as a replacement for elephant grass silage

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of the partial replacement of elephant grass silage with babassu cake (Orbignya speciosa) on the carcass characteristics and meat quality of feedlot lambs. Forty-five castrated male Santa Ines sheep (19.08?±?0.41 kg) approximately 4 months old were distributed in a completely randomized design, with five treatments 0.0, 12.5, 25.0, 37.5 and 50 % (%DM) replacement of babassu cake with silage forming isoproteic diets formulated at a ratio of 40 % roughage to 60 % concentrate. All of the studied animals were slaughtered at the end of the experiment. The liver weights and yields increased with the inclusion of babassu cake. The weight of the shoulder increased from 2.31 to 2.61 kg, while the loin yield decreased from 7.38 to 6.64 % with the inclusion of babassu cake, both linearly. The body length, thoracic perimeter, rump perimeter and carcass compactness index showed high and positive correlations with the hot and cold carcass weights. The myofibrillar fragmentation index decreased linearly as a function of the inclusion level of babassu cake, but other quality variables were not affected. The replacement of up to 50 % of the elephant grass silage with babassu cake in the diet of lambs does not cause negative effects on carcass characteristics or meat quality.     

Pre-weaning growth performance of crossbred lambs (Dorper × indigenous sheep breeds) under semi-intensive management in eastern Ethiopia

A study was conducted to assess the effect of genetic and non-genetic factors (litter size, sex of lamb, and parity of dam) on pre-weaning growth performance of crossbred lambs (75 % Dorper (DR) 25 % indigenous lambs; and 50 % Dorper 50 % indigenous lambs) under semi-intensive husbandry practices in eastern Ethiopia. Data from a total of 275 Dorper sire breed × indigenous (Blackhead Ogaden [BHO] and Hararghe Highland [HH]) crossbred lambs with different genetic group of the parental breeds were collected for three consecutive years (2009 to 2011). Pre-weaning growth performance attributes of crossbred lambs studied were birth weight, weaning weight, and pre-weaning average daily gain. Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS (2003). Breed group and non-genetic factors significantly affected pre-weaning growth performance. Lambs with 75 % Dorper and 25 % indigenous had higher (P?<?0.01) birth weight than 50 % DR and 50 % HH but similar to 50 % DR and 50 % BHO. Weaning weight and pre-weaning live weight gain were higher (P?<?0.01) for ¾DR¼BHO and ¾DR¼HH than 50 % Dorper inheritance. Single-born lambs had higher weight at birth, weaning weight, and pre-weaning average daily gain as compared to twins. Sex comparison is significant (P?<?0.05) and male lambs recorded highest pre-weaning growth performance compared to female counterparts. Parity, season, and lambing year significantly (P?<?0.01) influenced the pre-weaning growth of crossbred lambs. Therefore, it could be concluded that 50–75 % Dorper inheritance improved pre-weaning growth performance of indigenous breeds of Hararghe Highland and Blackhead Ogaden sheep. The result also suggested culling of ewes older than fourth parity to improve the pre-weaning growth performance of lambs.     

Partial replacement of dried Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit leaves for noug (Guizotia abyssinica) (L.f.) Cass. seed cake in the diet of highland sheep fed on wheat straw

This study investigated the effect of replacing noug (Guizotia abyssinica) (L.f.) Cass. seed cake by dried Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit leaves on feed intake, live weight gain, nutrient digestibility, and nitrogen balance of highland sheep in Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia. Twenty intact yearling male highland sheep weighing16.9?±?1.62 kg were used in a randomized complete block design and included the following four treatments: T1 (control, wheat straw ad libitum?+?200 g noug seed cake (NSC)?+?150 g wheat bran (WB)); T2 (wheat straw ad libitum?+?170 g NSC?+?44.3 g dried L. leucocephala (DLL)?+?150 g WB); T3 (wheat straw ad libitum?+?140 g NSC?+?87.3 g DLL?+?150 g WB); and T4 (wheat straw ad libitum?+?110 g NSC?+?130.2 g DLL?+?150 g WB). Sheep fed on T4 diet consumed higher total dry matter (658 g/head/day) and recorded the highest average daily weight gain (59 g/head/day). Sheep fed on T4 diet had higher dry matter (61 %), organic matter (63 %), and crude protein (75 %) digestibility values than the other treatments. Sheep fed on T3 diet demonstrated higher feed conversion ratio (11.93) than sheep kept on the other treatments. All sheep exhibited positive nitrogen balance, with the highest nitrogen retention being measured in T4 (12 g/head/day). It is concluded that partially replacing NSC by DLL can improve total dry matter intake, digestibility of nutrients, and body weight gain in highland sheep fed on wheat straw as the basal diet.     

Leucaena and dried poultry waste improve the performance of West African Dwarf sheep on a grass diet

This study investigated the effects on digestibility and growth when West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep were fed a basal diet of Tripsacum laxum with Leucaena leucocephala or dried poultry waste as supplement. Fifteen WAD sheep (12 rams and 3 ewes) were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments of 5 animals each, namely T1—basal diet of chopped T. laxum (control), T2—basal diet plus dried poultry waste, and T3—basal diet plus L. leucocephala. Animals had access to drinking water and a mineral mix ad libitum. They were weighed weekly after a 2-week adaptation period, for a duration of 12 weeks. At the end of the feeding trial, three rams randomly selected from each treatment group were used for the digestibility study. Results revealed that average daily intake of L. leucocephala (350.0?±?0.3 g/animal) was higher than that of dried poultry waste (260.0?±?0.1 g/animal). The supplemented groups, T2 and T3, gained 21.4 and 31.0 g daily respectively, while animals of the control group (T1) lost 6.0 g daily. There was a significant difference (P?<?0.01) in dry matter intake between the control and supplemented groups, with T2 recording the highest intake. Organic matter intake of treatment 3 was significantly (P?<?0.01) higher than that of T1 and T2. The differences in crude fibre (CF) ingestion between T2 and T1 as well as T3 and T1 were significant (P?<?0.01), with the highest ingestion of CF occurring in T1. The dry matter digestibility of the supplemented groups was significantly higher (P?<?0.05) than that of the control. The organic matter digestibility of T2 and T3, as well as T1 and T3 were significantly different (P?<?0.05), being highest in T3 (77.0?±?2.1 %) and lowest in T2 (58.1?±?1.0 %) It was concluded from the study that T. laxum can be better utilized in West African Dwarf sheep when supplemented with dried poultry waste or L. leucocephala.     

Replacing commercial concentrate by Ficus thonningii improved productivity of goats in Ethiopia

Ficus thonningii (FT) is an important multipurpose fodder tree providing economic and ecological benefits across arid and semi-arid areas in Africa. Despite its availability in many Sub-Saharan African countries, there is lack of information on its effect on animal productivity. Twenty-four male weaned highland goats of age 7?±?1.5 months were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments in a completely randomized block design. All animals were fed wheat straw, water, and salt licks ad libitum. The control group (T1) was fed concentrate mixture at 2 % of their body weight, while in T2, T3, and T4, 25, 50, and 75 % of the weight of concentrate (DM basis), respectively, was replaced by sun dried FT leaf meal. FT leaf meal had acceptable levels crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and tannins and has resulted in increased body weight in all treatments. Goats fed T3 diet showed significantly higher (P?<?0.05) values in terms of feed intake, body weight gain, some carcass attributes, and local meat quality indicators than the rest of the treatments. An increase in proportion of FT leaf meal beyond 50 %, however, resulted in decreased body weight gain, and other carcass parameters, despite increased feed intake. Therefore, F. thonningii can be used to replace commercial concentrate mixture up to 50 % to improve feed intake and productivity of Ethiopian highland goats.     

Assessment of different levels of enset (Ensete ventricosum) corm as an energy supplement in sheep fed a basal diet of Rhodes grass hay

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of feeding different levels of enset corm as a supplement to sheep fed Rhodes grass hay. Thirty local yearling rams with a mean (±SD) body weight of 16.97 (±1.13) kg were used. Six sheep were allocated to each of the five treatments in a completely randomized design. The treatments were hay ad libitum and 129 g dry matter (DM) corm (T1), 188 g DM corm (T2), 248 g DM corm (T3), 100 g DM noug (T4) cake, and hay alone (T5). One hundred grams of noug seedcake was supplemented for all treatments except T5. Total DM and organic matter (OM) intakes of sheep in T1, T2, and T3 were the highest (P?<?0.05) compared with sheep in other treatments, while sheep in T5 consumed the lowest DM and OM. The total crude protein (CP) intakes of sheep in T3 and T2 were greater (P?<?0.05) than the other treatments, while sheep in T5 consumed the lowest CP. The apparent DM and OM digestibility coefficients of T1, T2, and T3 diets were higher (P?<?0.05) compared with T5. The lowest (P?<?0.05) CP digestibility was in T5, whereas the digestibility among the supplemented groups was similar (P?>?0.05). The daily body weight gain for T1, T2, and T3 diets was greater (P?<?0.05) than that of T5. The feed conversion efficiency for T1 and T2 was higher (P?<?0.05) than T5, while T4 had an intermediate value. The highest (P?<?0.05) nitrogen retention was in sheep fed T3 diet, while the lowest was in those fed T5. It is concluded that farmers can supplement enset corm at 129 g DM/day as an alternative energy source to improve the productivity of sheep for small-scale farmers under enset-livestock production systems.     

Evaluation of bovine rumen contents as a feed for lambs

This study evaluated effects of increasing levels of dried rumen contents (DRC) on voluntary intake, growth performance, digestibility, nutritive value, N utilization, microbial protein supply (MPS), and purine derivatives excretion (PDE) of lambs fed with Afzelia africana basal forage. Sixteen lambs (13.7?±?0.1 kg body weight (BW)) were randomly assigned to one of the four eight diets containing 0, 200, 400 and 600 g DRC/kg dry matter (DM) in a completely random design. Intakes of concentrate, DM, crude protein (CP), organic matter (OM), digestible CP (DCP), digestible OM (DOM), digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME), CP and OM digestibility, DOM, DCP, DE, ME, N intake and retention, weight gain, cost/kg BW gain, MPS and PDE increased with increasing DRC level up to 400 g/kg DRC and declined at 600 g/kg DRC (P?<?0.05; 0.01). Feed conversion ratio and DM digestibility declined as DRC level increased from 0 to 400 g/kg and peaked at 600 g/kg DRC (P?<?0.05; 0.01). Forage intake and DE/DCP ratio decreased (P?<?0.05; 0.01) progressively with increasing DRC level. Results indicate that DRC can be incorporated up to 400 g/kg in a compounded ration for sheep.