Effect of supplementation of Simada sheep with graded levels of concentrate meal on feed intake, digestibility and body-weight parameters

Abstract

The experiment consisting of 7 days of digestibility and 90 days of feeding trial was conducted at Wogda (Ethiopia) to determine the effect of supplementation of graded levels of concentrate mix (CM) on feed intake, digestibility, and body weight (BW) change in hay-based feeding of Simada sheep. Twenty-yearling Simada sheep with a mean initial BW of 17.9 +/- 0.81 kg (mean +/- SD) were used in randomized complete block design arranged into five blocks of four animals. The four dietary treatments that consisted of hay alone (T1), hay +150 g dry matter (DM; T2, low), hay +250 g DM (T3, medium), and hay +350 g DM (T4, high) CM were randomly assigned to each sheep within a block. The CM consisted of wheat bran (WB), noug seed (Guizotia abyssinica) meal and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) seed meal at the ratio of (2:1:1), respectively. Supplementation with T2 and T3 increased (P < 0.001) total DM and organic matter intake than the control treatment. Overall, supplementation improved (P < 0.001) crude protein intake, digestibility, feed conversion efficiency, BW gain, and profitability compared to the control, whereas sheep on the high than the low and medium level of supplementation performed better in these parameters among the supplemented treatments. From the results of this study, T4 is recommended as the best level of supplementation since it resulted in better nutrient utilization, animal performance, and profitability.

Supplementation of Adilo Sheep with Sole or Mixtures of Moringa stenopetala Leaf Meal and Wheat Bran on Feed intake, Body Weight Gain and Digestibility

“…The diff erence in the ADL content might be due to the diff erence in the proportion of grass species and stage of maturity at the harvest. The OM of grass hay in the current study was comparable with the result (107 g/kg) reported by Dessie et al (2010).…”

“…The ADF content of hay obtained in this study was in an agreement with 468 g/kg DM reported by Abebaw and Solomon (2008), but higher than the value (445 g/kg DM) reported by Tafa et al (2010) and lower than the value (510 g/kg DM) reported by Dessie et al (2010). The ADL content of grass hay used in the current study was comparable to the result obtained by Dessie et al (2010), but higher than 43.6 and 56 g/kg DM reported by Tafa et al (2010) and Bishaw and Melaku (2008), respectively. The diff erence in the ADL content might be due to the diff erence in the proportion of grass species and stage of maturity at the harvest.…”

“…The NDF component of hay used in the current study was lower compared to the result (756.8 and 767.5 g/kg DM) reported by Dessie et al (2010) and Bishaw and Melaku (2009), respectively. The ADF content of hay obtained in this study was in an agreement with 468 g/kg DM reported by Abebaw and Solomon (2008), but higher than the value (445 g/kg DM) reported by Tafa et al (2010) and lower than the value (510 g/kg DM) reported by Dessie et al (2010).…”

“…The NDF (cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin fraction) of grass hay was lower as compare to the value 792 g/kg DM reported by Bishaw and Melaku (2008) but higher than 612 g/kg DM reported by Feyera and Animut (2011). High NDF content in the diet leads to reduction in DM digestibility (Dessie et al, 2010) and DMI due to slow passage rate.…”

Proximate composition, amino acid profile, carbohydrate and mineral content of seed meals from four safflower (Carthamus tinctoriusL.) varieties grown in north-eastern Morocco

“…Safflower meal is mainly used as an ingredient for animal feed due to its high protein content. In fact, several studies have shown that the incorporation of safflower meal into the feed of ruminants, such as sheep and cattle, improves their performances (Dixon et al, 2003a, b;Dessie et al, 2010). Barbour et al (2016) showed that the meal of dehulled safflower seeds could replace lysine supplementation in a soybean meal-based feed.…”