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1.
A feeding trial was carried out for 90 days to asses the supplementing effect of tagasaste forage as a substitute for a concentrate supplement (wheat bran–noug seed cake (Gizotia abyssinica) mixture in 3:1 proportion) using 24 Menz male sheep (initial weight of 18.3 ± 1.6 kg). The sheep were fed on natural pasture hay as basal diet. The treatments were iso-nitrogenous supplements of 100% concentrate offered at 200 g DM/sheep/day (T1), 67% concentrate + 33% tagasaste (T2), 33% concentrate + 67% tagasaste (T3) and 100% tagasaste (T4). Digestibility tests of treatment diets were done for 10 days following the feeding trial using the same experimental animals. At the end of the experiment, carcass parameters were also evaluated. In situ degradability of feeds was determined using three rumen fistulated crossbred steers. Tagasaste forage contains more CP (215 g/kg), ADF (221 g/kg), ADL (69 g/kg); and less NDF (351 g/kg) compared to the concentrate. The concentrate had a high immediately soluble fraction (a), and a low insoluble but potential degradable matter (b), while tagasaste had a low a and higher b values and the overall potential degradability was 755, 702, and 586 g/kg, for tagasaste, concentrate and natural pasture hay respectively. Tagasaste forage had also shown higher rates of degradation (c) compared to the concentrate which might increase the total effective degradability. In the feeding trial the supplements made 26.8, 27.0, 28.3 and 29% of the total dry matter (DM) intake for T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively. Increasing the inclusion of tagasaste forage significantly (P < 0.01) decreased the daily total DM intake of the basal diet and total metabolizable energy (ME), and increased the CP intake. The average weight gain of sheep did not show significant difference (P > 0.05), but had a decreasing trend, with 44.4, 41.4, 38.9 and 38.1 g/sheep for T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively. The in vivo digestibility of DM and nutrients generally followed the order of T1 > T2 > T3 > T4. The dressing percentage of the carcass was 40.4% and all other parameters measured did not show significant variation due to treatment diets (P > 0.05). However, weight of liver, kidney and spleen was higher for sheep fed with higher tagasaste forage diet. The result of this study revealed that tagasaste can substitute wheat bran–noug seed cake concentrate mixture as a protein supplement. Options to increase the low ME and minimize the effect of the anti nutritional factors will improve nutrient digestibility in tagasaste forage and will enhance the overall efficiency of feed utilization. 相似文献
2.
The experiment was conducted at Alamata Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia using 20 Afar rams with an initial body weight
(BW) of 18.2 ± 1.76 (mean ± SD) kg. The objectives were to study the effect of supplementation with concentrate mix consisting
of wheat bran (WB), noug seed cake (NSC) and sesame seed cake (SSC) at the ratio of 2:1:1 on dry matter (DM) basis, respectively
on feed intake, digestibility, BW gain and carcass parameters of Afar rams fed tef (Eragrostis tef) straw basal diet. The experiment was arranged with four treatments and five replications in a randomized complete block
design. The treatments included feeding sole tef straw (T1, control), and daily supplementation with the concentrate mix offered
at 150 (T2, low), 250 (T3, medium) and 350 (T4, high) g DM per head. Total DM intake, crude protein (CP) digestibility, daily
BW gain (P < 0.001), DM and organic matter (OM) digestibility, and carcass parameters (P < 0.05) were higher in the supplemented
than in the control treatment. Intake of tef straw reduced as the level of supplementation increased, whereas the contrary
was true for CP intake. Performance in carcass parameters was better for the medium compared to the low level of concentrate
mix supplementation. Moreover, the medium level of supplementation did not substitute tef straw intake. Therefore, it is concluded
that the medium level of concentrate mix supplement maintained the utilization of the roughage feed and resulted in better
carcass parameters. 相似文献
3.
Effect of supplementation of Simada sheep with graded levels of concentrate meal on feed intake,digestibility and body-weight parameters 总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0
Jemberu Dessie Solomon Melaku Firew Tegegne Kurt J. Peters 《Tropical animal health and production》2010,42(5):841-848
The experiment consisting of 7 days of digestibility and 90 days of feeding trial was conducted at Wogda (Ethiopia) to determine
the effect of supplementation of graded levels of concentrate mix (CM) on feed intake, digestibility, and body weight (BW)
change in hay-based feeding of Simada sheep. Twenty-yearling Simada sheep with a mean initial BW of 17.9 ± 0.81 kg (mean ±
SD) were used in randomized complete block design arranged into five blocks of four animals. The four dietary treatments that
consisted of hay alone (T1), hay +150 g dry matter (DM; T2, low), hay +250 g DM (T3, medium), and hay +350 g DM (T4, high)
CM were randomly assigned to each sheep within a block. The CM consisted of wheat bran (WB), noug seed (Guizotia abyssinica) meal and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) seed meal at the ratio of (2:1:1), respectively. Supplementation with T2 and T3 increased (P < 0.001) total DM and organic matter intake than the control treatment. Overall, supplementation improved (P < 0.001) crude protein intake, digestibility, feed conversion efficiency, BW gain, and profitability compared to the control,
whereas sheep on the high than the low and medium level of supplementation performed better in these parameters among the
supplemented treatments. From the results of this study, T4 is recommended as the best level of supplementation since it resulted
in better nutrient utilization, animal performance, and profitability. 相似文献
4.
5.
This study investigated the effect of replacing noug (Guizotia abyssinica) (L.f.) Cass. seed cake by dried Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit leaves on feed intake, live weight gain, nutrient digestibility, and nitrogen balance of highland sheep in Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia. Twenty intact yearling male highland sheep weighing16.9?±?1.62 kg were used in a randomized complete block design and included the following four treatments: T1 (control, wheat straw ad libitum?+?200 g noug seed cake (NSC)?+?150 g wheat bran (WB)); T2 (wheat straw ad libitum?+?170 g NSC?+?44.3 g dried L. leucocephala (DLL)?+?150 g WB); T3 (wheat straw ad libitum?+?140 g NSC?+?87.3 g DLL?+?150 g WB); and T4 (wheat straw ad libitum?+?110 g NSC?+?130.2 g DLL?+?150 g WB). Sheep fed on T4 diet consumed higher total dry matter (658 g/head/day) and recorded the highest average daily weight gain (59 g/head/day). Sheep fed on T4 diet had higher dry matter (61 %), organic matter (63 %), and crude protein (75 %) digestibility values than the other treatments. Sheep fed on T3 diet demonstrated higher feed conversion ratio (11.93) than sheep kept on the other treatments. All sheep exhibited positive nitrogen balance, with the highest nitrogen retention being measured in T4 (12 g/head/day). It is concluded that partially replacing NSC by DLL can improve total dry matter intake, digestibility of nutrients, and body weight gain in highland sheep fed on wheat straw as the basal diet. 相似文献
6.
Supplementation of Farta sheep fed hay with graded levels of concentrate mix consisting of noug seed meal and rice bran 总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0
Bimrew Asmare Solomon Melaku Kurt J. Peters 《Tropical animal health and production》2010,42(7):1345-1352
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. 相似文献
7.
Gomes DI Véras RM Alves KS Detmann E Oliveira LR Mezzomo R Dos Santos RB de Sousa Barcelos S 《Tropical animal health and production》2012,44(7):1751-1757
This trial was conducted to assess the efficacy of a?ai seeds in the diet of sheep, specifically, to evaluate the intake, digestibility, and weight gain in sheep that are fed with diets containing four different mixtures of a?ai seeds and coastcross hay. Sixteen noncastrated male sheep with an average initial body weight of 22?kg were randomly assigned to one of four diet treatments using initial body weight as a covariate. The diets used coastcross hay as the basal roughage in a 60:40 roughage/concentrate ratio. The concentrate was the same in all the treatments. The a?ai seed was added to the diet as a partial substitute for the coastcross hay to make up four diet treatments: 0 (control), 5, 10, and 15?% a?aí added to the diet on a dry matter basis. The daily weight gain, final body weight, and feed intake were found to linearly increase with the increase in added dietary a?ai seed meal (P?相似文献
8.
The suitability of a corn and cob maize silage (CCM) as a component rich in energy in the fattening ration was investigated in a growth experiment with male broilers. The CCM silage with a dry matter content of 60.2% contained the following substances determining its value (per 1 kg dry matter of the feed): 102 g crude protein, 61 g crude fibre and 682 energetic feed units for chickens (EFUc). CCM silage was either fed as a component of a feed mixture consisting of 70.5% CCM silage and 29.5% protein concentrate (all values of original substance) or both components of the ration were fed to broilers separately. The protein concentrate was composed as follows (values per kg): 650 g soybean oilmeal, 110 g fishmeal, 85 g tankage from rendering plants, 55 g torula yeast, 70 g mineral mixture and 30 g of a mixture of biologically active substances. The broilers of the control group received commercial fattening feed for broilers with coarse maize meal as cereal component. The feed mixture with CCM silage and separate CCM silage were accepted readily. When CCM silage and protein concentrate were offered alternatively, the same amount of CCM silage was consumed but 8% less protein concentrate. The broilers fed with CCM silage plus protein concentrate reached 96-97% of the live weight of the control animals (1.952 g/animal, 49th day), which received conventional feed, although their net energy intake was 10% lower. This proves a more favourable net energy expenditure for the test groups fed with CCM silage. 相似文献
9.
The effects of feeding naturally contaminated feedstuffs to sheep were investigated through feeding of contaminated and uncontaminated clover hay, rice straw, and concentrate feed mixture were compared. The highest level of contamination with fungi was observed in the concentrate feed mixture followed by clover hay and rice straw. The most dominant mycotoxin in the contaminated feedstuffs was zearalenone. Contamination resulted in increases of crude protein, ash and silica in feedstuffs while both ether extract and crude fibre decreased. In vivo digestibility of different diet constituents in both contaminated and uncontaminated feedstuffs were determined using four mature Rahmani rams. Contamination resulted in significant increase in the digestibility of dry matter, crude fibre and energy. Contamination affected feed intake of the different feedstuffs particularly the concentrate feed mixture. A metabolism trial was also conducted to study the nitrogen and mineral balance. Retention of nitrogen and calcium was reduced when mouldy feeds were given. On the other hand, magnesium was relatively increased. Blood analysis for sheep at the end of the trials resulted in elevated values of inorganic phosphorus and phospholipid phosphorus and declined total nitrogen, calcium, cholesterol, calcium/phosphorus ratio and cholesterol/calcium ratio due to feeding on mouldy ration. Results of the urine analysis during the metabolism trials proved that mouldy ration increased the estimated values of the concentration of calcium, magnesium and vitamin C; whereas pH values, total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen and inorganic phosphorus were declined during the feeding on the mouldy ration. Mouldy feeds tested, seemed to have toxic, nephritic and hepatic effect. 相似文献
10.
Ajebu Nurfeta 《Tropical animal health and production》2010,42(5):815-824
Effects of supplementing sheep consuming wheat straw with local agro-industrial by-products on feed intake, growth, digestibility
and nitrogen utilization were determined. Thirty 1-year-old local wethers, with a mean (±SD) live weight of 19.8 (±1.06) kg,
were assigned to five treatments: wheat straw + atella (T1), wheat straw + atella + poultry litter (T2), wheat straw + atella + coffee pulp (T3), wheat straw + atella + coffee pulp + poultry litter (T4), hay + concentrate (T5). A 7-day digestibility experiment and a 112-day growth trial
were conducted. Total dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) intake as well as body weight gain was similar for all treatments.
The highest (P < 0.05) nitrogen (N) intake was in sheep fed T1 and T4 diets, while the lowest was in those fed T2 and T5 diets. Sheep fed
T1 and T2 diets had greater (P < 0.05) DM and OM digestibility than those fed T4 and T5 diets. The highest (P < 0.05) digestibility of N was for the T2, T4, and T5 diets, while the lowest was for the T1 diet. The highest N retention
was in T4 diet, whereas the lowest was in T3 diet. In conclusion, in urban and peri-urban areas where atella, poultry litter, or coffee pulp are available, smallholder farmers could feed the mixtures as a supplement to straw with
a good performance without using concentrate feeds. 相似文献
11.
First of all spineless Opuntia is an important source of water for livestock in tropical regions. The water content of one-year sprouts amounted to 92.5%. 70 to 75% of dry matter of Opuntia ficus indica were crude carbohydrates, approximately 20% were crude ash. The apparent digestibility of organic matter was considerably high (70.9%), the energy content amounts to 35 and 467 EFUc per kg of fresh and dry matter respectively. Opuntias are roughage, their energy content is similar to that of grass or legumes during flowering. The protein content is too low (4.5 to 5.5% crude protein of dry matter) in order to meet the protein requirements of animals. When they had the choice rams preferred chopped fresh Opuntia (61.6% of the whole DM intake) to chopped dried Opuntia (34.7%) and whole fresh Opuntia (3.7%) apart from a certain basal diet (200 g of meadow hay and 200 g of concentrate per animal and day). If only one of the three differently treated forms of Opuntia was fed (apart from the basal diet) the sheep consumed daily 359 g of dry matter of chopped fresh Opuntia (approximately the same amount as if they had the choice, 101%), 313 g of dry matter of chopped dried Opuntia (88%) and 121 g of dry matter of whole fresh sprouts of Opuntia (34% of the total intake when they had the choice.) According to the obtained results spineless Opuntia ficus indica can be used in chopped form as an additional feed to other roughages (like grass, hay, straw) especially during the dry season. 相似文献
12.
In the tropical arid and semi-arid regions of many developing countries, sheep are predominantly grazed on low-quality pastures and stall-fed on crop residues. This study evaluated the potential of Grewia oppositifolia tree leaves as crude protein (CP) supplement to the low-quality diets of sheep in comparison with cottonseed cake (CSC). Changes in the chemical composition of the leaves with progressive maturation (December to March) were studied. The leaves maintained a high CP content (>164?g/kg dry matter (DM)) during the prolonged maturation in the winter feed scarcity period. The leaves were rich in Ca (41?g/kg DM) and K (89?g/kg DM). The rate of degradation and effective degradability of CP were consistently higher (P?相似文献
13.
本试验以绵羊作为研究对象，通过常规养分测定、消化试验和瘤胃降解试验(尼龙袋法)，对生物纤维饲料的常规养分、饲用价值、瘤胃降解特性进行了探讨。结果表明：生物纤维饲料中干物质、粗蛋白、粗脂肪、粗纤维、粗灰分、无氮浸出物、钙和磷的含量分别为：65．61％、21．97％、1．88％、3．00％、7．79％、30．97％、0．85%和1．13％；绵羊对生物纤维饲料的干物质、粗蛋白、粗脂肪、粗纤维、粗灰份、无氮浸出物和能量的消化率分别为74．71％、84．81％、72．24%、72．68％、45．41％、77．52％、77．76％；同时测得生物纤维饲料原样中的消化能为10 100kJ／kg；生物纤维饲料干物质的有效降解率为61．75%，而蛋白质的有效降解率为73．73％。 相似文献
14.
In Phanrang, Vietnam, sheep production is limited by the sparse availability of green roughage. Although prickly-pear cactus (Opuntia elator) is abundant in the area, it is not used. It was considered relevant therefore to test whether prickly-pear cactus could be used a component of feed supplements. With the use of the cactus and other local products--namely groundnut cake, fish sauce by-product, molasses, rice bran and cassava flour--two supplements were prepared. The level of cactus in the two supplements was 670 g/kg product (320 g/kg dry matter). The cactus was burned to remove the spines, chopped and sun-dried before use. The cactus preparation contained only 12 g crude protein/kg (68 g/ kg dry matter). The protein content of the two supplements was raised with either groundnut cake or fish sauce by-product. Sheep that were grazing during the day were offered either no supplement or one of the supplements when confined during the night. During a period of 3 months, non-supplemented control sheep gained 98 +/- 10.5 g/day (mean +/- SD, n=10). Sheep supplemented with cactus and groundnut gained 145 +/- 12.3 g/day, and those given cactus and fish sauce gained 130 +/- 11.7 g/day. It is concluded that prickly-pear cactus has potential as component of feed supplements for sheep. 相似文献
15.
The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of feeding different levels of enset corm as a supplement to sheep fed Rhodes grass hay. Thirty local yearling rams with a mean (±SD) body weight of 16.97 (±1.13) kg were used. Six sheep were allocated to each of the five treatments in a completely randomized design. The treatments were hay ad libitum and 129 g dry matter (DM) corm (T1), 188 g DM corm (T2), 248 g DM corm (T3), 100 g DM noug (T4) cake, and hay alone (T5). One hundred grams of noug seedcake was supplemented for all treatments except T5. Total DM and organic matter (OM) intakes of sheep in T1, T2, and T3 were the highest (P?<?0.05) compared with sheep in other treatments, while sheep in T5 consumed the lowest DM and OM. The total crude protein (CP) intakes of sheep in T3 and T2 were greater (P?<?0.05) than the other treatments, while sheep in T5 consumed the lowest CP. The apparent DM and OM digestibility coefficients of T1, T2, and T3 diets were higher (P?<?0.05) compared with T5. The lowest (P?<?0.05) CP digestibility was in T5, whereas the digestibility among the supplemented groups was similar (P?>?0.05). The daily body weight gain for T1, T2, and T3 diets was greater (P?<?0.05) than that of T5. The feed conversion efficiency for T1 and T2 was higher (P?<?0.05) than T5, while T4 had an intermediate value. The highest (P?<?0.05) nitrogen retention was in sheep fed T3 diet, while the lowest was in those fed T5. It is concluded that farmers can supplement enset corm at 129 g DM/day as an alternative energy source to improve the productivity of sheep for small-scale farmers under enset-livestock production systems. 相似文献
16.
Tewodros Eshete Solomon Gizaw Eyassu Seifu 《Tropical animal health and production》2012,45(1):177-184
The experiment was conducted to determine feed intake, digestibility, body weight change, carcass characteristics, and sensory quality of meat of Menz sheep supplemented with a concentrate mix and combinations of different proportions of tossign (Thymus serrulatus). Twenty yearling intact male Menz sheep were divided according to their initial body weight into five blocks of four animals in a randomized block design, and treatments were assigned randomly to each sheep within each block. The treatments were a basal diet of hay alone (T1) and supplemented with 300 g concentrate mix (T2), 200 g concentrate mix?+?100 g tossign (T3), and 100 g concentrate mix?+?200 g tossign (T4) on a dry matter basis. The results indicated that supplementation of tossign together with concentrate mix significantly increased (P?<?0.001) feed intake and improved DM and nutrient digestibility compared to the non-supplemented group. Supplementation of tossign with concentrate significantly improved (P?<?0.001) daily weight gain, feed conversion efficiency, and carcass characteristics of sheep compared to the non-supplemented group. Flavor and aroma scores of meat samples of sheep in T3 and T4 were significantly higher (P?<?0.001) than the corresponding values in T1 and T2. The scores for tenderness, juiciness, and degree of marbling of meat samples of sheep were significantly higher (P?<?0.001) in T3 and T4 compared to meat samples of sheep in T1. Inclusion of small amounts of tossign as additive in concentrate mix supplementation can improve the sensory quality of meat of Menz sheep. 相似文献
17.
The objectives of this experiment were to study the regression relationship between the in vitro-estimated utilizable crude protein (uCP) and the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) crude protein fractions, i.e. PA, PB1, PB2, PB3 and PC of feeds for ruminants, and the possibility of using CNCPS crude protein fractions for the estimation of uCP of feeds for ruminants. The CP, the non-protein nitrogen (NPN), the soluble cru de protein (SCP), the neutral detergent insoluble crude protein (NDICP) and the acid detergent insoluble crude protein (ADICP) of 30 single feeds were determined and the CP fractions, i.e. PA, PB1, PB2, PB3 and PC, were then calculated based on CNCPS. The uCP of the 30 feeds was estimated using the in vitro incubation technique of Zhao and Lebzien (2000). It was found that there was a significant multiple regression relationship between the uCP [g/kg dry matter (DM)] and the CNCPS crude protein fractions, i.e. PA (% DM), PB1 (% DM), PB2 (% DM), PB3 (% DM) and PC (% DM) of the feed samples. uCP = (9.95 +/-2.73)PA + (2.92 +/- 1.36)PB(1) + (7.24 +/- 0.86)PB(2) + (8.20 +/- 3.33)PB(3) + (17.67 +/- 3.79) PC + (63.26 +/- 18.02), r2 = 0.90, n = 30, p < 0.0001. It was suggested that the multiple regression relationship shown above could be used for the estimation of the uCP of feeds based on the CNCPS crude protein fractions PA, PB1, PB2, PB3 and PC of feeds for ruminants. 相似文献
18.
Effects of feeding growing broiler chickens with practical diets containing sweet lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) seed meal 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
1. Two experiments with growing broiler chickens were carried out to study the effects of the inclusion in their diets of whole or dehulled lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) seed meal on productive and physiological parameters. The effects of the addition of a commercial protease (1 g/kg, Bio-Feed Pro, Novo. Nordisk, Madrid) were also tested. 2. Diets were formulated to contain the same amounts of energy (12.55 kJ/g) and protein (210 g/kg). Raw whole (not heat treated) or dehulled sweet (low in alkaloids) lupin seed meal (400 and 320 g/kg, respectively) were used to formulate the lupin-based diets, and the protein content was completed with either defatted soybean or casein. 3. Final body weight and feed intake of chickens fed diets containing whole lupin seed meal (400 g/kg) were lower than controls, but gain:feed ratios were not different. The presence of soybean or casein in the diet did not affect productive parameters. Birds fed dehulled (320 g/kg) instead of whole lupin seed meal had similar body weight, feed intake and gain:feed values to controls. The addition of a commercial protease (1 g/kg, Bio-Feed Pro CT) to whole lupin/soy or whole lupin/casein diets tended to increase feed intake and final weight of the birds. 4. Plasma uric acid concentration was higher, and plasma cholesterol and triglycerides lower, in chicks fed whole lupin but not in those fed dehulled lupin seed meal. Plasma amino acid concentrations were not different from controls in birds fed lupin diets. 5. Apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids was not different from controls for the different lupin diets. The relative weight of the liver was higher than controls in lupin-fed birds, but not in those fed enzyme supplemented lupin-based diets. Liver concentrations of DNA tended to rise, while those of glycogen tended to decrease and liver RNA was lower in lupin-fed chicks. 相似文献
19.
通过市场上奶牛精料常规原料价格,计算出每单位奶牛能量单位(NND)和粗蛋白质(CP)的平均价格。根据饲料原料中的NND和CP含量,可计算出各种饲料的比较值,即精确得到精料原料的比较价格。在充分考虑原料适口性、可得性及有无毒性等前提因素下,选择低成本的原料配制奶牛精料补充料,可降低饲料配方成本,提高奶牛养殖效益。 相似文献
20.
Mahgoub O Kadim IT Al-Ajmi DS Al-Saqry NM Al-Abri AS Richie AR Annamalai K Forsberg NE 《Tropical animal health and production》2004,36(3):281-294
A feeding trial using various levels of dry pods of ghaf (Prosopis cineraria) was carried out with 28 Omani native male sheep. Individual feed intake and body weight were determined for 50 days to allow assessment of the effects of the feeds on growth, feed intake, feed conversion and carcase measurements. The ripened ghaf pods contained 91% dry matter (DM), 13.5% crude protein (CP), 14.3% crude fibre (CF), 1.3% ether extract (EE) and 5.2% ash (on DM basis). Four levels of ghaf (0, 15%, 30% and 45%) were used with corresponding decreasing proportions of Rhodes grass (RGH) hay. Animals fed rations containing RGH as the sole source of roughage and no ghaf grew faster (135 g/day) and had better feed conversion than those fed various levels of ghaf. Sheep fed 15% ghaf gained reasonably well (90 g/day) and had carcase attributes similar to those fed no ghaf. Sheep fed 30% ghaf still gained weight but those fed 45% ghaf lost weight. Negative effects on growth appeared to occur after 6 weeks of feeding ghaf. 相似文献