Efficiency of Feeding Sesban Hay as a Replacement for Clover Hay on Growth Performance and Semen Quality of Sheep
Efficiency of Feeding Sesban Hay as a Replacement for Clover Hay on Growth Performance and Semen Quality of Sheep
Abd El-Moniem Ali S. Mahgoub, Ahmed Mohamed Abd El-Hafeez, Mahmoud Yassin Mohamed*, Al-Moataz Bellah Mahfouz Shaarawy, Mohamed Ibrahim Nassar
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted on forty male Ossimi sheep with an initial body weight of 19.04 ±0.48 kg post-weaning to puberty. We aimed to investigate the effects of substituting sesban (Sesbania sesban) hay instead of clover hay on feed intake, digestibility, growth performance, and semen quality. Animals were randomly divided into four groups and fed four different rations. Ration 1 (R1) was the control (60% concentrate feed mixture + 40% clover hay). The remaining rations were supplemented with sesban hay by 10% (R2), 20% (R3), and 30% (R4) as a replacement from the clover hay ratio in the control ration. Results showed that supplementation of sesban hay increased the nutritive value of digestible crude protein (P < 0.0001), ruminal pH, and NH3-N values. Total dry matter intake tended insignificantly decrease with increasing levels from sesban hay. Final body weight, average daily gain, growth rate, and body weight gain did not affect by sesban supplementation. Supplementation of sesban hay improved feed conversion to digestible crude protein (P < 0.002). The replacement of clover hay 10, 20, and 30% ratios of sesban hay did not affect most of the puberty parameters and semen characteristics. Economic efficiency was noticeably higher with an increasing level of sesban hay. It concluded that partial replacement of up to 30% of clover hay by sesban hay has positive effects on some metabolic parameters, reflected improving the economic efficiency of growing Ossimi sheep without affecting their growth rate and semen quality.
Keywords | Ossimi sheep, Sesban hay, Clover hay, Growth, Semen quality
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July 2022
Vol. 10, Iss. 7, Pages 1423-1658
