Effect of supplementation of oilseeds co-products on production performance and fatty acids composition of Beetal goats.

This study evaluated the effect of different oilseed co-product supplementations on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, N retention, yields of milk and milk constituents, and milk fatty acid (FA) profile of Beetal goats. In the lactation trial, thirty-six lactating multiparous Beetal goats (45 ± 2.04 kg; 15 ± 2.3 days in milk) were assigned to four experimental rations according to randomized complete block design. The blocks were balanced for daily milk yield, parity, and body weight. The goats were either fed a maize silage and wheat straw-based basal ration ad libitum (control) or the control ration was supplemented with cotton seed cake, mustard seed cake, or maize oil cake on an iso-N basis. At the end of lactation trial, four goats (44 ± 0.8 kg BW; producing 1250 ± 110 g milk/day) were selected and moved to individual metabolism crates for a digestibility and N balance experiment, using a Latin square design (4 × 4). Supplementation of the co-products increased intakes of forage mixture (P = 0.002), total dry matter (DM; P < 0.001), neutral detergent fibre (NDF; P = 0.003), and crude protein (CP; P < 0.001). The additional N supplied by the co-products increased (P < 0.001) N retention, yields of milk, fat, protein, and lactose. Further comparison of the rations supplemented with the co-products revealed that the greatest (P < 0.05) increase in yields of milk (240 g/day), milk protein (11.6 g/day), fats (16.3 g/day), and lactose (11.2 g/day) was recorded for maize oil cake, as compared to the control. Except C8:0, supplementation of the co-products decreased (P < 0.01) the contents of all de novo-synthesized saturated FAs (SFAs) and increased (P < 0.001) the contents of health beneficial C18:1n-9, C18:1 tans-11, C18:2n-6, C18:3n-3, C20:2n-6, C20:5n3, and total unsaturated FAs in milk fat. Our findings demonstrated that the oilseed co-product inclusion in dairy goat rations significantly improves forage biomass utilization, yields of milk and milk constituents, and milk FAs' profile, with the largest impact being observed for maize oil cake.

Effect of processed sweet lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) grain supplementation on growth performance and socioeconomic feasibility of Doyogena sheep in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: The experiment evaluated the effect of supplementing sheep fed natural pasture hay withprocessed sweet lupin grain on growth performance and its economic feasibility. The finding revealed that use of steamed lupin shown to improve the nutritivevalue of the grain and sheep performance. METHODS: The experiment was carried out using 24 yearling lambs with initial body weight of 27.53 ± 2.67 kg (mean ± SD) for 126 days (21 days quarantine, 15 days of adaptation and 90 days growth trial followed by 7 days digestibility trial). The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block design consisting of four treatments and six blocks. Treatments comprised the feeding of natural pasture hay ad libitum + concentrate mix 440 g (T1), natural pasture hay + 440 g/day roasted, coarsely ground sweet lupin grain (T2), natural pasture hay + 440 g/day sweet lupin grain soaked in water for 72 h (T3), natural pasture hay + 440 g/day steamed sweet lupin grain (T4). RESULTS: There was improvements in total dry matter intake and digestibility coefficients of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre in sheep supplemented with processed sweet lupin grains compared (T4) by 58.49%, 24.66%, 39.39%, 22.97% and 39.68%, respectively, over the control group. Specifically sheep supplemented with T4 had significantly higher (p < 0.001) average daily gain (by 51.04%), feed conversion efficiency (46.34%) and daily weight gain (144.78 g/day) compared to the control treatment, respectively. All processing methods resulted in favourable average daily gain and net return, thus can be employed in feeding systems depending on their availability and relative cost. CONCLUSIONS: Supplementing sheep fed natural pasture hay with 440 g/day steamed sweet lupin grains improved growth performance and fattening economics of Doyogena sheep compared to T2 (roasted sweet lupin grain), T3 (soaked sweet lupin grain) or the control (T1).

Inoculation and phosphorus fertilizer improve food-feed traits of grain legumes in mixed crop-livestock systems of Ethiopia.

Grain legumes play an important role as source of food and feed in smallholder mixed systems. They also contribute to soil fertility improvement through biological nitrogen fixation. Although rhizobium inoculation and phosphorus fertilizer are known to improve grain yield of legumes, information is limited on the effect of this practice on the yield and fodder quality of the haulm. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of rhizobium inoculation (I) and phosphorus fertilizer (P) on yield and nutritional quality of grains and haulms of grain legumes (faba bean, chickpea, common bean and soybean) on farm across diverse agroecological locations in the Ethiopian highlands. The crops were subjected to four treatments [+I, +P, -I + P and a negative control (-P-I)] at multiple locations on farm during the main cropping season in 2016. Yield data was recorded during grain harvesting, and subsequently representative samples of grains and haulms were collected and analyzed for quality variables. Effects of the treatments were significant (P < 0.05) with 30% increase on grain yield for all studied crops and 28% increase on haulm dry matter yield for faba bean, common bean and soybean. Crude protein (CP) and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) values of faba bean, common bean and soybean haulms were higher (P < 0.05); and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents were lower (P < 0.05) for the treatments than the control. The haulm CP content and IVOMD of chickpea also responded positively (P < 0.05) to the treatments. The current results demonstrated the possibility of improving both yield and quality of grains and haulms of grain legumes with the application of efficient rhizobium inocula and P fertilization. This practice offers an opportunity for smallholders in the crop-livestock system to improve the food-feed traits of grain legumes with minimal input and environmental footprint.

The nutritional value of peanut hay (Arachis hypogaea L.) as an alternate forage source for sheep.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional and feeding value of peanut hay (Arachis hypogaea L.) produced under tropical environment as an alternate forage resource for sheep. Peanut hay was appreciably high in crude protein [CP; 105 g/kg dry matter (DM)] and lower in neutral detergent fiber (NDF; 466 g/kg DM). Moreover, peanut hay was rich in Ca (12 g/kg DM) and P (1.7 g/kg DM). A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effect of substituting wheat straw with peanut hay on nutrient intake, digestibility, and N utilization. Four adult Ramghani (Kaghani × Rambouillet) wethers (60 ± 2.5 kg body weight) were randomly assigned to the four dietary treatments according to a 4 × 4 Latin square design. The four rations were formulated on isonitrogenous and isocaloric bases and differed in the proportion (in grams per kilogram DM) of wheat straw/peanut hay, i.e., 700:0, 460:240, 240:460, and 0:700. The replacement of wheat straw with peanut hay increased the intakes of DM (P < 0.001), NDF (P < 0.01), and N (P < 0.001). Moreover, apparent in vivo digestibility of DM, NDF, and CP increased (P < 0.001) with the increasing proportion of peanut hay in the ration. Nitrogen retention in the body increased (P < 0.01; 3.2 to 8.1 g/day) with the replacement of wheat straw with peanut hay. These findings showed that substitution of wheat straw with peanut hay can improve DM and nutrients intake, digestibility, and N retention in sheep.