Feed intake and utilization in sheep fed graded levels of dried moringa ( Moringa stenopetala ) leaf as a supplement to Rhodes grass hay (original) (raw)
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The most constraining factor in goat production in the tropics is underfeeding mainly attributed to limitations of feed both in quantity and quality. This study was conducted to assess the effect of supplementing different levels of air-dried Moringa stenopetala leaf (MSL) as a protein source on nutrient intake and growth performances of Arsi-Bale male goats. A total of 24 yearling goats with average initial body weight of 13.6 ± 0.25 kg were used in the study. The goats were blocked by live weight into four groups (n = 6 per group) and the groups were then randomly allocated into four supplemented treatments. All goats received a basal diet of natural grass hay ad libitum and 340 g/head/day concentrate. The treatments were the control diet with no supplementation (Treatment 1, T1) and diets supplemented with MSL at a rate of 120 g/head/day (Treatment 2, T2), 170 g/head/day (Treatment 3, T3) and 220 g/head/day (Treatment 4, T4). The duration of the experiment was 75 days. The results indicated that the average daily feed intake was (p < 0.001) higher in goats supplemented with T3 and T4 diets. The total dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein intakes of goats fed with T3 and T4 supplementations were (p < 0.001) also higher than those reared in T1 and T2 diets. Goats reared in T3 and T4 diets had lower (p < 0.05) feed conversion ratio than those fed with T1 and T2 diets. The final body weight in goats reared in T3 and T4 diets was 18.2 kg and 18.5 kg, respectively, being (p < 0.05) higher than those of T1 (15.8 kg) and T2 (16.3 kg). The average daily weight gain in goats fed with T3 and T4 diets was 111 and 114 g/goat/day, respectively, which was (p < 0.05) higher than those reared in the control (T1) (54.0 g/goat/day) and T2 (58.1 g/goat/day) diets. It can thus be concluded that goats reared at high level of MSL supplementation (T3 and T4) had better nutrient intake, feed conversion efficiency and growth performances, suggesting its potential as a good protein supplement to natural grass hay at the farmer’s management level.
Effect of feeding Moringa on Sudanese desert sheep performance
The experiment was conducted on desert male sheep’s to evaluate the effect feeding moringa on body weight gain, feed intake and body weight change. Twelve (12) rams of desert sheep aged 4-5 months and weighing 12.1 Kg (11.7-12.4 Kg) were used in these experiments. The goats were divided randomly into three groups; each group (4 males) in complete randomized design. The results revealed that the group one which fed mixture of rang plants showed the heaviest body weight gain as 104.48 g/day compared with other feeds. The effect of feeds on body weight change and final gain, was significant (P ≤ 0.001) with the mixture of range plants with moringa (26.77±0.68kg) and mixture of range plants alone (25.33±0.76kg) compared with moringa alone (22.77±3.87kg
The study was conducted to investigate nutrient metabolism and semen quality of bulls fed with moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaves, twigs, and branches as a major concentrate ingredient. Twenty-one Red Chittagong bulls of about 204 (±50) kg initial live weight (LW) were randomly divided into three equal LW groups. They were fed maize silage as a basal feedstuff for 65 days with the supplementation of concentrate mixtures at 1% of LW, consisting of either 0, 25, or 50% moringa mash on a fresh basis. Moringa mash was a sun-dried ground preparation of leaves, twigs, and branches of moringa. The results indicated that different levels of moringa in concentrate mixtures (0, 25, and 50%) did not change daily DM intake, digestibility, and LW gain of bulls (p > 0.05). However, increasing dietary moringa (up to 203 g/kg DM) significantly decreased production cost of methane (CH4) (methane emission [kg/kg gain] = 1.6422—[0.0059 × moringa intake, g/kg DM], n = 12, R 2 = 0.384, P = 0.032) in a similar metabolizable energy intake level (0.21 ± 0.01 MJ/kg LW). Also, higher dietary moringa significantly reduced urinary nitrogen loss (urinary nitrogen [% digested nitrogen] = 43.0 – 0.069 × moringa intake [g/kg DM]; R 2 = 0.3712, P = 0.034). Thus, increasing moringa by 1 g/kg DM decreased CH4 emission by 6 g/kg gain and absorbed nitrogen loss by 0.069 %. Also, progressive motility of sperm increased significantly (33.0, 51.0, and 60.1%, respectively; p = 0.03) in bulls fed with concentrate mixtures containing moringa at 0, 25, or 50%. It may be concluded that feeding moringa mash at 203 g/kg DM may decrease energy loss as methane and urinary nitrogen loss without impacting the production of beef cattle. Feeding moringa mash to beef cattle may abate dietary energy and nitrogen loss and consequently decrease the environmental pollution.