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- Title
Feed intake, digestibility, nitrogen utilization, and body weight change of sheep consuming wheat straw supplemented with local agricultural and agro-industrial by-products.
- Authors
Nurfeta, Ajebu
- Abstract
Effects of supplementing sheep consuming wheat straw with local agro-industrial by-products on feed intake, growth, digestibility and nitrogen utilization were determined. Thirty 1-year-old local wethers, with a mean (±SD) live weight of 19.8 (±1.06) kg, were assigned to five treatments: wheat straw + atella (T1), wheat straw + atella + poultry litter (T2), wheat straw + atella + coffee pulp (T3), wheat straw + atella + coffee pulp + poultry litter (T4), hay + concentrate (T5). A 7-day digestibility experiment and a 112-day growth trial were conducted. Total dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) intake as well as body weight gain was similar for all treatments. The highest ( P < 0.05) nitrogen (N) intake was in sheep fed T1 and T4 diets, while the lowest was in those fed T2 and T5 diets. Sheep fed T1 and T2 diets had greater ( P < 0.05) DM and OM digestibility than those fed T4 and T5 diets. The highest ( P < 0.05) digestibility of N was for the T2, T4, and T5 diets, while the lowest was for the T1 diet. The highest N retention was in T4 diet, whereas the lowest was in T3 diet. In conclusion, in urban and peri-urban areas where atella, poultry litter, or coffee pulp are available, smallholder farmers could feed the mixtures as a supplement to straw with a good performance without using concentrate feeds.
- Subjects
SHEEP feeding; COFFEE pulp as feed; CROPS; NITROGEN; WHEAT straw; ANIMAL feeding; ANIMAL nutrition
- Publication
Tropical Animal Health & Production, 2010, Vol 42, Issue 5, p815
- ISSN
0049-4747
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11250-009-9491-8