Study of the Hydroponic Barley Effect on the Performance of Feedlot of Calves in the Region Souss Massa (Southern Morocco)

Abstract

The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of the introduction of hydroponic barley; produced as feed supplement in the ration, on the performance of feedlot calves. This study was performed in the Taroudant region (South of Morocco), during a trial period between July and October 2017). A total of 100 calves were used in a feeding trial, which were divided into two groups. The calves of the first group received a total mixed ration (control), while the calves of the second group received a similar ration with the addition of hydroponic barley.Similar growth performance is observed for the two groups, which is easily explained by the equivalent rationing. In the finishing phase, however, a higher average daily gain is observed for the group fed with an enriched diet in hydroponic green fodder. In fact, the average daily gain for this group amounts to 1.48 Kg/Day compared to 1.42 Kg/Day for the control group.The slaughter results confirm those noted in terms of growth performance, with a relatively similar carcass yield for the two groups.However, since hydroponic fodder reveals a positive impact especially at the level of the finishing phase, it seems judicious to introduce it in the key phases of fattening and finishing in order to perfect the weight gain of the species benefiting from this contribution.The test results suggest that hydroponic barley based rationing is to deepen, and that it would be desirable to repeat the experiment by testing different levels of hydroponic barley intake, adjusting both the type and the level of complementation, with a more accurate monitoring of feeding.