Trifolium tembense hay (TH) was given at three levels with each of four cereal crop residues (CCRs) in four separate experiments. Each CCR was also given alone. In a fifth experiment, TH was given alone. The CCRs were maize stover (MS), oat straw (OS), wheat straw (WS) and tef straw (TS) ( Eragrostis tef). The adult male castrate sheep were housed in metabolism cages; five sheep were fed on each diet. Voluntary dry matter (DM) intake, digestibility of various chemical components and nitrogen retention were measured. The intake of OS was significantly higher than that of the other three CCRs. The apparent DM digestibility of MS and OS was significantly higher than that of TS and that of TS was significantly higher than that of WS. Higher digestibility was associated with a lower metabolic loss. The addition of TH significantly reduced the consumption of each CCR, but significantly increased the consumption of total DM. The extent to which this occurred differed among CCRs and levels of TH. The TH also increased the apparent digestibility of DM, crude protein (CP), and phosphorus of each mixed diet, when compared with each CCR given alone. The apparent digestibility of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and hemicellulose was increased in mixed diets based on MS and OS and that of acid detergent fibre and cellulose in OS. The digestibility of cellulose was increased in MS and TS. Nitrogen retention was increased in the case of each CCR. The magnitude and significance of the differences varied among levels of TH supplementation and among CCRs. The benefits to be obtained by supplementation of CCRs with legume hay were comparable to those expected from treatment of CCR with strong alkalis, and legume supplementation is more appropriate to the conditions encountered on small mixed farms in Africa.