TITLE:
Effect of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Haulm and Maize Bran Mixture Supplementation on Growth and Carcass Characteristics Performance of Local Sheep Fed Pasture Hay Basal Diet
AUTHORS:
Bijiga Tsafiyo, Befikadu Zewdie, Hirut Yirga, Dejene Teshome
KEYWORDS:
Body Weight, Feed Intake, Groundnut Haulms, Local Sheep, Maize Bran
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.12 No.1,
November
29,
2021
ABSTRACT: The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of groundnut haulm
and maize bran mixture supplementations on feed intake, digestibility, body
weight gain and carcass characteristics of local sheep fed hay basal diet at
Salga sheep farm in Assosa district, Western Ethiopia. The experiment was laid
out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four treatments
consisting of six blocks with four animals per block based on their initial
body weight of 20.12 ± 0.05 kg (mean ± SD). Treatments comprised of feeding
natural pasture hay ad libitum T1 = 0; T2 = 100% maize bran (MB); T3 = 50% MB
and 50% Groundnut haulm (GNH), and T4 = 100% GNH. The amount of supplements
offered was 300 g/day/animal on DM basis. The daily feed intake, daily body
weight gain, feed conversion efficiency, dry matter and nutrient digestibility,
and carcass characteristics parameters were measured during the experimental
period. The study result indicates that the crude protein (CP) contents were
7.12% and 11.6%, and the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) contents were 67.9% and
57.5% for natural grass hay and groundnut haulm, respectively. The total DM
intake was higher (P