Abstract
The study was conducted on station at Agricultural Research Center on Arsi bulls. Twenty four bulls were purchased from the surrounding area. The study objectives were to evaluate and indentify the most economical feeding options for yearling Arsi bulls for them to attain export market weight demand and evaluate the carcass characteristics. Three feeding treatments were evaluated during the feeding period and eight bulls randomly assigned to each of the three treatments. The result of the fattening trial revealed that there is no significant difference in final body weight and carcass characteristics among the bulls received the dietary rations. Furthermore, the study indicated that the yearling Arsi bulls fed on the three dietary rations did not attain export market weight in 238 days of feeding. Therefore, their growth performance should be further evaluated with other feeding options to know their fattening potential. Partial budget analysis of the bulls was not significant difference among the treatments, any of the feeding options can be used depending on availability of the ingredients in the area. Keywords: Yearling Arsi bulls, Market body weight, Carcass characteristic DOI : 10.7176/JBAH/9-14-01 Publication date :July 31 st 2019
Highlights
Livestock is an important sector in both highland mixed smallholder farming and low land agro-pastoral systems (Ayeneshet et al, 2018)
Effect of dietary rations on growth performance Growth performances of the experimental bulls were analyzed at 60 days, 120 days and 238 days of fattening period
This study indicated that the yearling Arsi bulls did not attain export market body weight demand in 238 days of fattening period
Summary
Livestock is an important sector in both highland mixed smallholder farming and low land agro-pastoral systems (Ayeneshet et al, 2018). Despite the importance of cattle among the farming communities and to the national economy at large, this sector has remained under-developed and, in many cases, underutilized (Gebretnsae et al, 2017). In Ethiopia, the current per capita consumption of meat is 13.9 kg/year, being lower than the African and the world per capita averages, which are 27 and 100 kg/year, respectively (Tsigereda et al, 2016). This is due to the fact that livestock production in Ethiopia is subsistence oriented and characterized by low performance
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