Effects of urea-treated rumen digesta pellet concentrate on digestibility, growth performance and blood profile of Djallonké sheep

Abstract

Rumen digesta is a waste product from the abattoir and slaughterhouse. In most developing countries, it discarded in a manner that causes pollution in the environment. It contains partially fermented feedstuff with a CP ranging from 9 to 20%. Addition of urea and pelleting of feed has been proven to further enhance the nutrient quality and digestibility of the feed. The study sought to evaluate the effects of dried rumen digesta pellets (DRDP) concentrate on intake, apparent digestibility, growth performance and blood profile of Djallonké sheep in the savanna agro ecological zone of Ghana. Four levels of DRD (0%, 5%, 10% and 15%) were incorporated into a concentrate diet and fed to sixteen (16) Djallonké rams with mean initial weight of 9.± 0.37 kg. The four concentrates were pelleted and fed with rice straw as the basal diet and replicated four times in a completely randomized design (CRD) for 84-d. The CP content of the concentrate was in the range of 101.0 to 131.4 g/kg DM. The NDF and ADF were in the range of 447.6 to 543.9 and 235.0 to 198.7 respectively. Dry mater intake did not differ amongst the rams. However, crude protein intake was significantly higher in rams fed 15% DRD. Whereas DM digestibility coefficient did not differ, a significant difference was recorded in the CP digestibility coefficient of rams with the highest obtained in rams fed 10 and 15% DRD. Final live weight gain was significantly different with rams fed 15% DRD recording twice the gain in rams fed the control diet. The trend was similar for the average daily weight gain with rams on 15% DRD recording a significantly higher gain compared to the control (48.93 vs 28.89 g/day/head). Haematological parameters of rams after the feeding trial were not significantly affected (p<0.05) by the dietary treatments. The serological parameters measured for all the rams fed the DRD concentrate did not differ (p>0.05) among the dietary treatments except albumin and Blood Urea Nitrogen concentration which were significantly influenced (p<0.005) by dietary treatment. Feeding young rams with DRDP improved the final live weight gain and average daily weight gain of Djallonké rams in the Savanna agro ecological zones and could therefore be used as a supplement for small ruminants.