Feed Intake, Digestibility and Live Weight Change of Lambs Fed Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana) Straw Supplemented With Atella, Noug Seed (Guizotia abyssinica) Cake and Their Mixtures

Feed intake, digestibility and body weight change of lambs fed finger millet (Eleusine coracana) straw basal diet supplemented with atella (traditional brewery residue), noug seed (Guizotia abyssinica) cake and mixtures of atella and noug seedcake (NSC) was studied using twenty five yearling male lambs of Ethiopian Highland sheep breed with average initial body weight (BW) of 16.4 ± 1.1 kg (Mean ± SD). The lambs were grouped into five blocks of five animals, and fed with finger millet straw alone (T1), finger millet straw + atella (T2), finger millet straw + mixture of 70% atella: 30% NSC (T3), finger millet straw + mixture of 30% atella: 70% NSC (T4), and finger millet straw + NSC (T5). The supplements were offered at the rate of 300 g/d during the feeding and digestibility trials of 90 and 7 days, respectively. Daily feed intake and body weight change of lambs was measured. Supplementation of atella, NSC and their mixtures increased (P < 0.05) the intakes of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) of the total feed. The intake of finger millet straw (393 g/d) DM for lambs in T1 was higher (P < 0.001) as compared to finger millet straw intake by lambs in T4 (353.5 g/d) and T5 (337.8 g/d). Lambs in T5 had the highest (P < 0.05) CP intake of 101 g/d followed by T4, T3 and T2 with 91, 84 and 73 g/d, respectively. The digestibility of DM, OM and CP, as well as the daily BW gain was higher (P < 0.05) for supplemented than for the control (-23.3 g/d). It was concluded that supplementation of lambs with atella alone resulted in lower (P < 0.05) daily BW gain of 51 g/d as compared to BW gain of 63 g/d and 60 g/d as a result of supplementation with a mixture of 30% atella: 70% NSC and sole NSC.