Gule Ashenafi Hunduma, Derese Debela Bayu, Erge Chala Merera, Girgo Ulfina Galmessa, Ejeta Hirpassa Kabeta
Department of Animal Science, School of Agriculture, Ambo University, P.O.Box 19, Oromia, Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research Center, P. O. Box 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2023 Jun 29;9(7):e17820. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17820. eCollection 2023 Jul.
The study was aimed at evaluating growth performance, carcass, and non-carcass traits of Horro rams fed on commercial feed (CO) supplemented with different proportions of duckweed (DW). For the study, twenty-four yearling Horro rams initially weighing on average 17.73 ± 0.30 kg were used with a 15-day adaptation period (none-study period) and a 90-day study period. Each animal was randomly assigned to three treatments; T1 (100% CO), T2 (25% DW + 75% CO), and T3 (50% DW + 50% CO) with two replications each containing four animals. All diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous and formulated according to the nutrient requirements of sheep. The data were analyzed using SAS. Results indicated that dry matter intake in T3 (914.37 g. d-1) was higher (P < 0.001) than in T1 (849.12 g. d-1) and T2 (870.50 g. d-1). Average daily body weight gain in T3 (77 g. d-1) was higher (P < 0.001) than in T1 (48.60 g. d-1) and T2 (58.50 g. d-1). Feed conversion efficiency was higher (P < 0.001) for T3 (0.08) followed by T2 (0.07) and T1 (0.05). Final body weight (24.56 kg), empty body weight (20.40 kg), hot carcass weight (10.27 kg), dressing percentage (42.01) and rib-eye muscle area (9.11 cm) were higher (P < 0.001) for T3 than for others. Therefore, increasing the inclusion level of supplementary duckweed up to 50% improves growth performance, carcass quality, and yield of Horro ram.
本研究旨在评估以添加不同比例浮萍（DW）的商业饲料（CO）喂养的霍罗公羊的生长性能、胴体和非胴体性状。本研究使用了24只初始平均体重为17.73±0.30千克的一岁霍罗公羊，设有15天的适应期（非研究期）和90天的研究期。每只动物被随机分配到三种处理组；T1（100%CO）、T2（25%DW+75%CO）和T3（50%DW+50%CO），每组重复两次，每组包含四只动物。所有日粮均为等热量和等氮量，并根据绵羊的营养需求配制。数据使用SAS进行分析。结果表明，T3组（914.37克·天-1）的干物质摄入量高于T1组（849.12克·天-1）和T2组（870.50克·天-1）（P<0.001）。T3组（77克·天-1）的平均日体重增加高于T1组（48.60克·天-1）和T2组（58.50克·天-1）（P<0.001）。T3组（0.08）的饲料转化效率高于T2组（0.07）和T1组（0.05）（P<0.001）。T3组的最终体重（24.56千克）、空腹体重（20.40千克）、热胴体重（10.27千克）、屠宰率（42.01）和肋眼肌面积（9.11平方厘米）均高于其他组（P<0.001）。因此，将浮萍的添加水平提高到50%可改善霍罗公羊的生长性能、胴体品质和产量。
