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Feeding sorghum stover to ethiopian sheep: effect of chopping and amount offered on growth, intake and selection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

E L K Osafo
Affiliation:
International Livestock Centre for Africa, P O Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
E Owen
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Reading, P O Box 236, Reading RG6 2AT
A A O Aboud
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Reading, P O Box 236, Reading RG6 2AT
A N Said
Affiliation:
International Livestock Centre for Africa, P O Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
E M Gill
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Institute, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Chatham ME4 4TB
A McAllan
Affiliation:
Institute for Grassland and Environmental Research, Hurley, Maidenhead SL6 5LR
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Extract

Aboud et al (1990) found that intake and selectivity of sorghum stover by Ethiopian sheep increased as the ad 1ibitum amounts offered (g/kg mass[M].day[d]) were increased from 25 to 50 and 75; the largest improvement in intake occurred with increasing the amount offered from 25 to 50 g/kg M.d. In the study by Aboud et al (1990), the stover offered was in chopped form. The present study investigated the effect of chopping per se, with stover offered at 25 or 50 g/kg M.d.

Following hand-harvesting of sorghum grain (non bird-resistant variety Dinkamash) in mid-November 1989, the stover (straw) was hand-cut from the field in mid-January 1990 and stored indoors until feeding in May. Forty eight Menz Highland rams of 17.2 kg initial M and ca.15 months of age were fed 113 g dry matter [DM]/ram.d of cottonseed cake and ad libitum sorghum stover over 56 d; salt licks were also provided.

Type
Cereal Crop Utilisation
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1991

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References

Aboud, A A O, Owen, E, Reed, J D and Mc Allan, A B 1990. Feeding sorghum stover to Ethiopian sheep: effect of stover variety and amount offered on growth, intake and selection. Animal Production 50 (3): 593 (Abstr.).Google Scholar