Effect of Feeding Graded Levels of Wild Silver Leaf Desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum) on Feed Intake and Digestibility of Horro Sheep Fed A Basal Diet of Natural Pasture Hay

Abstract

This experiment was conducted at Nedjo ATVET College with the objective of evaluating the effects of graded levels of wild silver leaf desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum) on feed intake, and digestibility, of Horro sheep fed a basal diet of natural pasture hay. Twenty intact male Horro sheep with intact milk teeth and an average initial weight of 18.28±1.47 kg (mean± SD) were used. The experiment consisted of 7 days of digestibility trial and 90 days of feeding trials. The experimental sheep were blocked into 5 blocks of 4 animals based on initial body weight and randomly assigned to one of the four treatments within a block. The treatments were natural pasture hay ad libitum (DU₁) and wild silver leaf desmodium supplement at levels of 200(DU₂), 300(DU₃), 400(DU₄) g/head/d on dry matter bases. The basal diet had DM, CP and OM of 91.2, 75.5 and 9.3, respectively while the corresponding values for Desmodium were 89.8, 77.8 and 16.8. Total dry matter intake (698, 725.4, 773.3 and 864 g/d in DU-0_, DU-_{200, DU-300} and DU-₄₀₀ respectively) significantly increased with increasing level of Desmodium supplementation. Significantly higher (p<0.001) dry matter (DMD) (48, 68, 72 and 80% in DU-0_, DU-_200, DU-₃₀₀ and DU-₄₀₀ respectively), organic matter (OM) (48, 70, 74 and 82% in DU-0_, DU-_200, DU-₃₀₀ and DU-400 respectively), and crude protein (CP) (84, 88, 88 and 91% in DU-0 DU-₂₀₀ DU-₃₀₀ and DU-₄₀₀ respectively) digestibility were noted in this study. In this study among the levels of supplementation, 400 g wild silver leaf desmodium resulted in betterdry matter intake (DMI), and nutrient digestibility.

Keywords: desmodium ,dry matter, Digestibility ,horro sheep

DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-1-05

Publication date: January 31^st 2020