Effect of replacing wheat bran with air dried moringa stenopetala pod on nutrient intake, digestibility and growth performances of yearling sheep

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the effect of a partial substitution of wheat bran with air-dried Moringa stenopetala pod meal (MSPM) on nutrient intake, digestibility, growth performance and nitrogen utilization. Twenty-four yearling sheep with initial average body weight of 14.10.78 kg were divided into four groups of six animals and randomly allocated to dietary treatments. The treatment diets contained the control diet (T1) without MSPM, and diets containing MSPM at the level of 15.5% (T2), 28% (T3) and 46.5% (T4) by partially substituting the wheat bran in the control diet The feeding experiment was conducted for 70 days followed by 10 days of digestibility trial. The dry matter (DM) intakes of sheep fed T1 and T2 was higher (p<0.05) than that of T3. Sheep reared in T4 diet had higher (p<0.001) crude protein (CP) intake than those fed with the other treatment diets. The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) intake of sheep fed with T4 diet was higher (p<0.05) than those of the control diet (T1) but did not vary with those fed T2 and T3 diets. The DM and organic matter digestibility was higher (p<0.05) in sheep fed with T4 diet than those of T3. The CP digestibility for T3 and T4 diets was higher (p<0.05) than those fed T1 and T2 diets. The NDF digestibility was higher (p<0.05) for sheep fed with T2 and T4 diets than those of T1. The average daily gain was higher (p<0.05) in sheep reared on T1 and T2 diets than those fed T4 diet. The average daily fain did not differ (p>0.05) among T1, T2 and T3 diets. Feed conversion ratio (FCR, g DM/g weight gain) was higher (p<0.05) in sheep fed with T4 than those of T1 and T2 diets. The FCR was similar (p>0.05) between T1, T2 and T3 diets. Nitrogen retention was higher (p<0.05) in sheep fed with T1 and T3 diets than the other treatment diets. Sheep reared in T2 diet had better nitrogen retention compared with T4 diet. In conclusion, M. stenopetala pod can substitute wheat bran (up to  5%) without affecting the voluntary feed intake and growth performances of yearling sheep.