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The objective of the study was to establish the effect of appropriate supplementation days (days -21 to +7) using four isonitrogenous (14.7% CP) diets balanced to provide low (Lo-ME) or high (Hi-ME) metabolizable energy on the body condition score (BCS), body weight (BW) change, and reproductive performances of sheep. Thirty-five Doyogena ewes (27.71 ± 2.87 kg, 2-5 years of age, BCS of 2.0-2.5) grazing on natural pasture were randomly assigned to supplementary treatments consisting of combinations of enset leaf (EL) and commercial concentrate (CC): T0 (control), T1 (250 g EL + 500 g CC: Lo-ME), T2 (400 g EL + 500 g CC; Hi-ME), T3 (500 g EL + 400 g CC; Hi-ME), and T4 (500 g EL + 250 g CC; Lo-ME). The estrous cycle was synchronized with one intramuscular injection, 5 mg PGF2α, prior to artificial insemination. The dry matter (DM) from the pasture provided 1.10-1.46 kg/day, which corresponds to the DM requirements of the ewes until late gestation. However, the pasture provided a protein content of 9.52%, which was insufficient for breeding, mid-gestation, and gestation, requiring minimums of 16.1%, 13.1%, and 14.8%, respectively. The pasture could only provide enough energy for breeding ewes with a BW of up to 30 kg. The energy provided by pasture was insufficient for ewes weighing > 30 kg at mid-gestation and gestation, providing 6.9-9.2 MJ/day, below the requirement of 11.92-16.32 MJ/day required for mid-gestation and gestation. The energy was not sufficient for large ewes weighing > 40 kg. Supplementary diets T1-T4 provided DM in the range of 1.7-2.29 kg/day. This was sufficient for AI, mid-gestation, and gestation phases. Dietary supplements increased (p < 0.01) BW during breeding and mid-gestation. During lambing, T2 and T3 increased BW (p < 0.05) compared to T4 and T1. T4 had a similar effect (p > 0.05) on BW during lambing. T1, T2, and T3 significantly increased BCS (p < 0.05). T2 and T3 increased (p < 0.05) BCS at mid-gestation, but only T2 significantly increased BCD (p < 0.05) during lambing. All dietary supplements resulted in a shorter (p < 0.05) time to the resumption of estrous and the length of estrous (p < 0.05). T1, T2, and T3 resulted in a stronger estrous response (p < 0.05). Dietary supplements enhanced (p < 0.05) the conception rate and fecundity rate. The conception rate was highest in T2 and T3 at 85.7% and 83.3%, respectively. T2 had the highest fecundity rate at 151.7% (p < 0.05). Dietary supplementation increased the rate of lambing (LR), litter size (LS), and weight of lambs at birth (LBW). The LR for treatments T2, T3, and T4 was 100% versus 66.7% in the control. T1 and T2 significantly increased (p < 0.05) LS, but T4 had a similar LS to the control. Dietary supplements T1, T3, and T4 tended to increase (p < 0.05) LBW, but T2 increased LBW significantly (p < 0.05). Supplementation (T2, T3) with 400 g enset + 500 g CC and 500 g enset + 400 g CC are promising feed supplements to increase the reproductive capacities of Doyogena ewes in Ethiopia. Energy is as important to ewe flushing as protein.

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Ethiopia has a huge livestock population that includes sheep, which can be considered as a significant potential for the advancement of the country's economy. However, due to a shortage of appropriate supplementary feed and its escalating price, the production and productivity of sheep fattening in Ethiopian smallholder farmers are below its potential. Moreover, the use of Dried-Atella as an affordable supplementary feed resource for a better sheep production is not investigated and well documented. The aim of this study was to assess the comparative supplementation effects of Dried-Atella and Niger seed cakes (NSCs) on total dry matter and nutrient intake, body weight change, and carcass characteristics of Washera lambs. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with three treatments replicated five times. The treatments are described as follows: Treatment 1 = Natural pasture hay (NPH) (800 g/d) + Wheat bran (WB) (160 g/d) + salt and water (ad libitum); Treatment 2 = NPH (800 g/d) + WB (160 g/d) + NSC (163 g/d) + salt and water (ad libitum); and Treatment 3 = NPH (800 g/d) + WB (160 g/d) + Dried-Atella (330 g/d) + salt and water (ad libitum). The finding elucidated that the crude protein (CP) content of Dried Atella, WB, NPH, and NSC were about 25.07%, 16.57%, 4.48%, and 38.04%, respectively. The result also indicated that the average mean value of the feed and CP intake of the sheep fed Dried-Atella was significantly higher than the other treatments (P-value = 0.000). With regard to the CP digestibility and dry matter digestibility, animals supplemented with Dried-Atella were significantly higher than the control group with P-value = 0.000 and P-value = 0.028, respectively. The body weight gain of the sheep is significantly higher (P-value = 0.008) for feeds supplemented with Dried-Atella than feeds without any supplement. In terms of economic profitability, a slightly better benefit was recorded in feed supplements with Dried-Atella than supplements with NSC, animal feed without any supplement exhibited loss. Considering its effect on feed intake, CP intake, and its digestibility, body weight gain, and carcass characteristics of lambs, Dried-Atella is a promising affordable supplementary feed resource for better sheep production in Ethiopia.

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BACKGROUND: The experiment evaluated the effect of supplementing sheep fed natural pasture hay withprocessed sweet lupin grain on growth performance and its economic feasibility. The finding revealed that use of steamed lupin shown to improve the nutritivevalue of the grain and sheep performance. METHODS: The experiment was carried out using 24 yearling lambs with initial body weight of 27.53 ± 2.67 kg (mean ± SD) for 126 days (21 days quarantine, 15 days of adaptation and 90 days growth trial followed by 7 days digestibility trial). The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block design consisting of four treatments and six blocks. Treatments comprised the feeding of natural pasture hay ad libitum + concentrate mix 440 g (T1), natural pasture hay + 440 g/day roasted, coarsely ground sweet lupin grain (T2), natural pasture hay + 440 g/day sweet lupin grain soaked in water for 72 h (T3), natural pasture hay + 440 g/day steamed sweet lupin grain (T4). RESULTS: There was improvements in total dry matter intake and digestibility coefficients of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre in sheep supplemented with processed sweet lupin grains compared (T4) by 58.49%, 24.66%, 39.39%, 22.97% and 39.68%, respectively, over the control group. Specifically sheep supplemented with T4 had significantly higher (p < 0.001) average daily gain (by 51.04%), feed conversion efficiency (46.34%) and daily weight gain (144.78 g/day) compared to the control treatment, respectively. All processing methods resulted in favourable average daily gain and net return, thus can be employed in feeding systems depending on their availability and relative cost. CONCLUSIONS: Supplementing sheep fed natural pasture hay with 440 g/day steamed sweet lupin grains improved growth performance and fattening economics of Doyogena sheep compared to T2 (roasted sweet lupin grain), T3 (soaked sweet lupin grain) or the control (T1).

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BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the replacement value of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) hay for noug seed (Guizotia abissynica) cake on dry matter (DM) and nutrient intake, nutrient digestibility, body weight change, carcass characteristics and economic feasibility of the feeding regime of Gumuz lambs. METHODS: The study was conducted using 25 yearling intact male lambs with an initial body weight of 18.26 ± 0.63 kg (mean ± SD).The lambs were assigned into five treatments: (T1) 272.3 g noug seed cake (NSC); (T2) 200.73 g NSC + 105.55 g cowpea Sewinet variety hay (CSH); (T3) 134.3 g NSC + 211.86 g CSH; (T4) 66.31 g NSC + 313.79 g CSH and (T5) 417.98 g CSH on DM basis. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design (RCBD), and lambs were blocked based on their initial body weight. The feeding trial was conducted for 90 days followed by 7 days of digestibility trial. Natural pasture hay was treated with molasses solution for improvement of palatability and digestibility and offered for all experimental lambs in ad libitum. RESULTS: The crude protein (CP) contents of natural pasture hay (NPH), CSH and NSC were 4.99, 18.31 and 36.5%, respectively. The total DM intakes of lambs (P < 0.05) increased at higher levels of CSH supplementation. The CP intake decreased with increasing levels of CSH supplementation. Digestibility of DM, organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) was improved by a higher level of CSH supplementation but CP digestibility was not affected by supplementation of CSH. The average daily gain (ADG) showed significant difference (P < 0.05) among treatments. Similarly, the feed conversion efficiency (FCE) was significantly different (P < 0.05) among treatments; higher FCE was recorded at T1 but lower was at T3 and T4. The hot carcass weight (HCW) showed significant difference (P < 0.05) among treatments; higher value was observed in T5 (9.36 kg), but the smallest value was recorded for lambs on the T3 (7.36 kg). The higher dressing percentage (DP) on empty body weight basis was recorded in three treatment (T1 = T4 = T5) groups compared with (T2 > T3) treatments. Significantly higher (P < 0.05) rib-eye area was achieved at a high level of CSH and sole NSC supplemented lambs. The economic feasibility showed that the highest profit was achieved in T5. CONCLUSION: From the present study, it was concluded that CSH could be used for supplementation of protein source feed for body weight gain for Gumuz lambs by replacing high-cost concentrates in a native hay-based basal diet. As a final point, CSH supplementation was recommended as replacement of NSC at 417.98 g CSH (T5) for better biological performance as well as economic value.

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BACKGROUND: The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of tree lucerne dried leaves (TLDL) as a substituting supplement for noug seed cake, and wheat bran concentrate mixtures (CM) on feed intake, digestibility, growth, carcass characteristics and economic benefits using Washera sheep fed desho grass hay as a basal diet. METHODS: Twenty-five male Washera sheep with an initial body weight of 16 ± 4.01 kg (mean ± SD) were used for both growth and digestibility trials which lasted for 90 and 10 days, respectively The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design having five blocks with five treatments (T1 = 0% TLDL + 100% CM; T2 = 25% TLDL + 75% CM; T3 = 50% TLDL + 50% CM; T4 = 75% TLDL + 25% CM and T5 = 100% TLDL + 0% CM). RESULTS: Significant (p < .05) differences were observed among treatments in total dry matter (DM), nutrients and metabolizable energy (ME) intake; as the level of TLDL increases total DM and nutrient intake decreased (p < .05) except neutral detergent fibre intake (NDFI) and acid detergent fibre intake (ADFI). Digestibility of DM, organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) were significantly reduced (p < .001) among the treatments increasing the substitution level of TLDL for local concentrate mixture, but non-significant for fibre fractions digestibility. Similarly, body weight, average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency were significantly different (p < .01) and highest in T1 than other treatments, whereas lowest values of the same parameters were observed for T5. Non-significant difference among treatments was observed in almost all of the carcass characteristics except for rib-eye area that showed significant difference among treatment and was highest in T1 and T2 (low level of TLDL inclusion). The economic analysis showed that supplementation TLDL was economically feasible in which the net return of the treatments were 31.66 (T1), 30.68 (T2) and 30.34 (T3), 27.88 (T4) and 26.32 (T5) USD (United States Dollar). CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that TLDL could be used as alternative feed source by replacing concentrate mixture up to 75% (T4) which enhanced nutrient intake, digestibility and growth performance of Washera sheep. Finally, TLDL supplementation is recommended as replacement of CM up to 75% for its biological and economic feasibility.

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The experiment was conducted to evaluate effects of untreated and urea molasses-treated finger millet straw and lowland bamboo leaf hay feeding on nutrient utilization, growth and carcass characteristics of Gumuz sheep. Twenty yearling intact male sheep with initial body weight of 21.6 ± 1.31 kg (mean ± SD) were purchased from local market and were used for 7- and 90-day digestibility and feeding trials, respectively. The sheep were grouped into five blocks of four animals and randomly assigned to four dietary treatments. The treatment diets were untreated finger millet straw (UFMS) + 150 g wheat bran (WB) and noug seed cake (NSC) mixture (T1), untreated lowland bamboo leaf hay (ULBLH) + 150 g WB and NSC mixture (T2), urea molasses (UM)-treated finger millet straw (TFMS) + 150 g WB and NSC (T3), and UM-treated lowland bamboo leaf hay (TLBLH) + 150 g WB and NSC mixture (T4). Water and salt were given freely throughout the experimental period. Data were analyzed using ANOVA procedure of SAS software. The result of the experiment indicated that better CP was recorded in T4 (21.8%) than other treatments. The total DM intake of sheep was significantly (p < 0.001) higher for T2 = T4 > T3 > T1. Significantly higher (p < 0.001) CP intake was recorded in T4 than T3. Similarly, significantly higher CP digestibility was recorded in groups assigned in T4 than other treatments. UM treatment significantly improved (p < 0.05) the FMS than LBL in most of nutrients. Moreover, significantly (p < 0.001) higher ADG was recorded for T2 and T4 than T3; treatment on FMS did not show significant (p > 0.05) effect. T4 and T3 were similar and significantly higher in most of the carcass parameters except in hot carcass weight. In conclusion, UM treatment could be taken as an option to improve nutritive value of locally available lowland bamboo leaf hay and finger millet straw.

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The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding different levels of sun-dried Ziziphus spina-christi (ZC) leaves on feed intake and live weight gain of local male goats. Twenty-five male local breed of goats at 1 year of age (body weight; BW = 20.7 ± 0.72 kg) were randomly allocated to five treatments and five replications. Treatments were as follows: T1 (grass hay only; control group); T2 (75% grass hay + 25% ZC leaves); T3 (50% grass hay + 50% ZC leaves); T4 (25% grass hay + 75% ZC leaves), and T5 (100% ZC leaves). The study lasted for 90 days. During this period, feed intake, BW change, and average daily gain were evaluated. There was a significant difference in total dry matter intake of goats fed on different levels of ZC leaves compared with the control group. Mixing of the pasture grass hay diet improved (P < 0.05) goats feed intake from 440 to 592 g/head/day at the minimum proportion of 25% ZC and natural pasture mixture. However, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in feed intake among the supplemented groups (T2-T5) as ZC leaves proportion increased. Goats in the control group and in the 25% ZC treatment diet gained 31.4 and 46.7 g, which was not different (P > 0.05). The highest average daily BW was gained (P < 0.05) in goats supplemented with the highest level (100%) of ZC leaves. T5 (100% ZC leaves supplementation) showed a significant increment (P < 0.05) in body weight gain of goats over other treatments and the control. Feed conversion ratio was increased (P < 0.05) with increased inclusion level of ZC leaves. Goats on supplemented treatments 1 and 2; treatments 4 and 5 had no significant difference (P > 0.05) in feed conversion efficiency while there was a significant (P < 0.05) difference between treatments 2 and 3 diets which had higher (P < 0.05) feed conversion ratio than the control groups. Generally, the results of the current study showed that supplementation of goats with above 50% level of dried ZC leaves in their diet significantly increased feed intake and body weight gain by improving feed conversion efficiency of goats.

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The experiment was conducted using 20 yearling intact male Arsi-Bale sheep with a mean body weight of 20.56 ± 0.45 (mean ± SD) to investigate the performance and economic benefit of graded levels of concentrate supplementation to urea-treated maize cob (UTMC)-based diet. The experiment consisted of 7 days of digestibility trial and subsequent 90 days of feeding trial. Before the commencement of the experiment, sheep were vaccinated against common infectious diseases, dewormed, and disinfected against internal and external parasites, respectively. The experimental design was randomized complete block design. The sheep were grouped into five blocks of four animals based on their initial body weight, and one animal from each block was randomly assigned to one of the four treatments. The treatments included ad libitum feeding of UTMC (T1) and supplementation with a concentrate mixture composed of wheat bran (WB) and noug seed cake (NSC) in 2:1 ratio, which were offered at 150 g (T2), 250 g (T3), and 350 g (T4) DM/head/day. The CP content of the UTMC was 9.3% on DM basis. The daily DM intake of UTMC was higher (P < 0.001) for T4 (614.6 g) compared to T1 (505.1 g), T2 (538.9 g), and T3 (590.3 g). Total DM intake was higher (P < 0.001) for supplemented treatments T2 (688.4 g), T3 (844.1 g), and T4 (966.9 g). Supplementation did not improve (P > 0.05) digestibility of DM, OM, NDF, and ADF, except CP digestibility which was significant (P < 0.001) across treatments. Supplementation increased (P < 0.001) final body weight (FBWT), feed conversion efficiency (FCE), and average daily weight gain (ADG). The average daily gain (ADG) was highest (P < 0.001) in T4 (80.8 ± 7.74 g/day) followed by T3 (33.3 ± 7.74 g/day) and T2 (23.1 ± 0.95 kg) whereas the un-supplemented animals lost about 9.2 g/day. The highest total return, net income, and marginal rate of return were observed in higher level supplemented sheep than the control. Therefore, T4 improved biological performance and marginal rate of return than the other treatments and can be considered as better alternative feed supplement in UTMC-based feeding of Arsi-Bale sheep in Ethiopia.

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The study was conducted to determine feed intake, digestibility, and body weight (BW) change of Washera sheep fed on desho grass and natural pasture hay as a basal diet and supplemented with concentrate mixtures. Twenty-five intact male sheeps with body weight of 19.4 ± 1.89 kg (mean ± SD) were used in randomized complete block design. The dietary treatments were 100% natural pasture hay (NPH) (T1), 75% NPH + 25% desho grass hay (DGH) (T2), 50% NPH + 50% DGH (T3), 25% NPH + 75% DGH (T4), and 100% DGH (T5). Equal amount of concentrate mixture (CM) (300 g DM/day/h) was supplemented in all of the five treatments. The result of laboratory chemical analysis revealed that the CP content of the basal diets increased with increased proportion of desho grass hay inclusion in the treatments at the expense of natural pasture hay. Total DM, OM, CP, NDF, and ADF intake and digestibility was significant (P < 0.05) and in the increasing order of T1 < T2 < T3 < T4 < T5. The average daily body weight gain (ADG) of experimental sheep was significantly (P < 0.05) higher as proportion of desho grass increased from 0 to 100% in the basal diet. The result indicated that desho grass can be used as a basal diet for local sheep with better performance than natural pasture hay-based diets.

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The study was carried out at Woreta, Ethiopia, to determine feed intake, digestibility, body weight (BW) change, and profitability of Farta sheep fed pasture hay alone or supplemented with graded levels of concentrate mix (CM) consisting of noug seed meal (NSM) and rice bran in 2:1 ratio. Twenty yearling intact male Farta sheep with BW of 16.9 +/- 1.68 kg (mean +/- SD) were used in randomized complete block design arranged into five blocks of four animals. The dietary treatments consisting of sole natural pasture hay (T1, control), hay +200 g of CM dry matter (DM) (T2, low), hay +300 g of CM DM (T3, medium), and hay +400 g of CM DM (T4, high) were randomly assigned to sheep within each block. Common salt and water were available to animals all the time. The supplements were offered twice daily in equal portions at 0800 and 1600 h. Supplementation with the CM increased (P < 0.001) DM, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber intake and digestibility. The final BW and daily BW gains were higher (P < 0.001) for the supplemented compared to the control treatment. The study also revealed supplementation improved feed conversion efficiency and profitability. Among the supplemented treatments, the high level of supplementation resulted in better (P < 0.001) nutrient utilization, animal performance, and profitability. Thus, the high level of supplementation is recommended based on biological performance and profitability under conditions of this study.

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