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Dietary Supplementation Effect of Alfalfa and Prangos pabularia Hay on Feed Intake, Growth, and Nutrient Degradability in Kari Sheep

Dietary Supplementation Effect of Alfalfa and Prangos pabularia Hay on Feed Intake, Growth, and Nutrient Degradability in Kari Sheep

Muhammad Mobashar1, Qazi Aqeel1, Muhammad Tahir Khan1, Assar Ali Shah2*, Ahmed A.A. Abdel-Wareth3, Salman Khan4, Nazir Ahmad1, Sami Ullah1 and  Haq Amanullah5

1Department of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan.
2Institute of Animal Sciences, Jiangsu Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China. 
3Department of Animal and Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, South Valley University, 83523 Qena, Egypt.
4School of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Nanjing University, 210023, P. R. China.
5College of Veterinary Sciences, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan

*      Corresponding author: assaralishah@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to evaluate the dietary supplementation effect of alfalfa and Prangos pabularia hay on feed intake, growth performance, in-vivo and in-saco nutrient degradability in Kari sheep. A total of 36 Kari sheep were randomly weighed and offered the following four type of ration: A, total mix ration (TMR) + alfalfa (AL) 70 % and Prangos pabularia (PP) 0 % (control); B, TMR + 24% PP: 46 % AL; C, TMR + 46% PP 24 % AL and D, TMR + 70% PP: AL 0 % on dry matter basis were fed to experimental sheep for a period of 90 days. The dry matter intake, crude protein intake and organic matter intake (g/day) were significantly (P<0.05) affected in treatment groups. In-vivo nutrient digestibility, dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, crude fat, nitrogen-free extract (NFE), ash were significantly higher (P<0.05) in treatment groups, while in in-sacco degradability the DM and OM degradability at different time intervals (2h, 4h, 8h, 12h, 18h and 24 h) were significantly (P<0.05) higher in ration C and D. The initial body weight was significantly improved in treatment groups compared to control, while daily intake, average daily gain, and feed conversion efficiency were not affected. It is concluded that the dietary supplementation of alfalfa and Prangos pabularia hay increase the dry matter intake, digestibility and growth performance of Kari sheep.

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Pakistan Journal of Zoology

October

Pakistan J. Zool., Vol. 56, Iss. 5, pp. 2001-2500

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