Effects Of Supplementation with Sycamore Fig (Ficus Sycomorus) on Performances of Washera Sheep Fed Natural Pasture Hay and Its Economic Benefit
Journal Title: Global Journal of Animal Scientific Research - Year 2014, Vol 2, Issue 2
Abstract
The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementations with F. sycomorus leaf, fruit and their mixtures on intake, digestibility, body weight gain and carcass parameters of sheep fed basal diet hay, and to assess the economic benefit of the supplementation using partial budget analysis. The experiment was carried out at Gish Abay in Sekela Woreda, West Gojjam Zone; using twenty intact male yearling Washera sheep with a mean (±SD) initial body weight of 17.5±0.39kg. The animals were vaccinated against anthrax and pasteurellosis, dewormed and sprayed against internal and external parasites, respectively, before the start of the experiment. Experimental sheep were adapted for 15 days to the treatment feeds. The experiment consisted of digestibility trial of 7 days and feeding trial of 90 days. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five blocks consisting of four animals per block based on their initial body weight. Dietary treatments were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment diets within a block. Treatments comprised of feeding natural pasture hay ad libitum (un-supplemented: T1) or natural hay supplementation with either F. sycomorus leaf (Treatment 2: T2), or F. sycomorus fruit (Treatment 4; T4), or mixture of F. sycomorus leaf and fruit in a ratio of 1:1(Treatment3; T3). The amount of supplements offered was 300 g/day on DM basis. Water and salt were available free choice. Natural pasture hay in the current study contained 8.0% crude protein (CP), 73.1% Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and 43.6% acid detergent fiber (ADF). Sheep in the un-supplemented treatment consumed higher (p<0.001) basal dry matter intake ((581.6 g/day) as compared to supplemented group. However, total DM intake was higher for sheep in the supplemented group (T2-T4) compared to the un-supplemented (control). Supplementation significantly improved digestibility co-efficient of DM, organic matter (OM) (P<0.001) and CP (P<0.001). Supplementation highly increased (P<0.001) final body weight (FBW), feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and average daily gain (ADG). Sheep supplemented with T2 had significantly higher (P<0.001) FBW (21.6 kg), FCE (0.062) and ADG (45.1g/day) as compared to the un-supplemented treatment, which had 18.2 kg, 0.01 and 8g/day, respectively. Furthermore, Sheep in T2 had significantly higher (P<0.05) body weight change compared to the un-supplemented. Similar to biological performance, economic analysis also showed that supplementation with T2 resulted in better return compared to others. Thus, it can be concluded that supplementation in general improved animal performance. Among the supplements, however, T2 is biologically optimum and economically feasible.
Authors and Affiliations
Awoke Kassa Zewdie, Yoseph Mekasha
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP29024
- DOI -
- Views 408
- Downloads 7
Microbial Quality of Beef in the Yendi Municipality of Ghana
The microbial quality of beef, table and apron in five meat retail shops in the Yendi Municipality of Ghana was investigated in order to ascertain their safety. The shops were selected from Central market A (external),...
Comparative Analysis of Colony Performance and Profit from Different Beehive Types in Southwest Ethiopia
The sole purpose of a hive is to encourage the bees to build their nests in such a way that it is easy to manage and maintain them. This study examined four beehive types: namely improved frame hive (Zander model), Ken...
Nutritional Evaluation of Conventional Feedstuffs for Ruminants using InVitro Gas Production Technique
The use of crop residues and agricultural by-products in animal feeding is a very common practice in Myanmar. Nutritive values and fermentation characteristics of natural grass (NG), lablab bean stalk (LLB), butter bea...
Response of Broiler Chicks to in ovo Injection of Calcium, Phosphorus, and Vitamin D Complex (CaDPhos).
The effect of in ovo injection (IOI) of calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D complex (CaDPhos) was studied on post-hatch bone parameters and broiler chick's performance. Fertilized eggs (n=480) were distributed into 4 gr...
Dietary Supplementation of Silybum marianum or Curcuma spp on Health Characteristics and Broiler Chicken Performance
This study was carried out to investigate the effect of silybum marianum (SM), Curcuma spp (CP), or their mixture (PM) on intestinal microflora and broiler chicken performance. A total of 180 unsexed broiler chicken (R...