Performance of Sahiwal and Friesian heifers fed on napier grass supplemented with graded levels of lucerne

Two experiments designated A and B were conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementing napier grass with lucerne on dry matter intake (DMI) and weight gain (ADG) of Friesian and Sahiwal heifers. In experiment A which lasted 92 days, 24 heifers from each of Sahiwal and Friesian breeds were blocked...

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Published inSouth African journal of animal science Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 1 - 10
Main Authors Kariuki, J.N. (National Animal Husbandry Research Centre, Naivasha (Kenya)), Tamminga, S, Gitau, G.K, Gachuiri, C.K, Muia, J.M.K
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) 1999
Subjects
ALFALFA
ALIMENTACION COMPLEMENTARIA
ALIMENTATION COMPLEMENTAIRE
Animal Nutrition
BOVIN LAITIER
DAIRY CATTLE
Degradation
Diervoeding
GANADO DE LECHE
GENISSE
HEIFERS
Intake
KENIA
KENYA
Leerstoelgroep Diervoeding
LUCERNE
LUZERNE
Napier
NOVILLA
PENNISETUM PURPUREUM
SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING
Weight gain
WIAS
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Summary:Two experiments designated A and B were conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementing napier grass with lucerne on dry matter intake (DMI) and weight gain (ADG) of Friesian and Sahiwal heifers. In experiment A which lasted 92 days, 24 heifers from each of Sahiwal and Friesian breeds were blocked by breed and randomly allocated to the following treatments: young napier + 0 kg lucerne (T1); young napier + 1.5 kg lucerne (T2); old napier + 0 kg lucerne (T3); old napier + 1.5 kg lucerne (T4); old napier + 2.5 kg lucerne (T5); old napier + 3.5 kg lucerne (T6) heifer-1 .day-1. Supplementation significantly (p < 0.05) increased DMI from 4.3 to 6.7 kg.day-1 in Sahiwals and 5.2 to 7.8 kg.day-1 in Friesians (p < 0.05). Similarly, supplementation positively influenced ADG which significantly (p < 0.05) improved from 0.29 to 0.64 kg.day-1 for Sahiwals and 0.30 to 0.65 kg.day-1 for Friesians. In Experiment B, diets from experiment A were incubated in the rumen for 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96 and 336 h using four steers to estimate degradation. The rumen degradation of lucerne-containing diets were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those with napier grass alone. It was concluded from the study that lucerne has a great potential to improve animal performance in smallholder dairy farms.
Bibliography:1999000418
L02
ISSN:0375-1589