Effect of Supplementing Wheat Bran, Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Hay, and Their Combinations to Begait Lambs Fed Natural Grass Hay as a Base Diet on Their Nutrient Digestibility and Dry Matter

Aim/Objective:

To evaluate the effect of supplementing wheat bran (WB), cowpea hay (CPH), and mixes of the two on dry matter and nutrient digestibility of Begait lambs fed natural grass hay as a basal diet.
To determine the ideal ratio for supplementing wheat bran and cowpea hay on the dry matter and nutritional digestibility of Begait lambs given natural grass hay as their baseline diet.
Study Design: The study employed a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five treatments and blocks.

Location and Length of Study: Northern Ethiopia, Humera Agricultural Research Center farm, starting December 2016 until November 2017.

Methodology: 25 intact male Begait lambs were bought from the local market, weighing an average of 28.02 ± 1.49 kg (mean ± SD) at 5 to 6 months of age. Based on their starting body weight, they were split into five groups and assigned randomly to each of the five treatments. The standard diet for T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 consisted of giving natural grass hay ad libitum plus supplements of 300 g CPH, 225 g CPH + 75 g WB, 150 g CPH + 150 g WB, 75 g CPH + 225 g WB, and 300 g WB.

DM day-1. All lambs in each treatment were equipped with a fecal-collection bag for three days, after which they were required to collect all of their excrement for seven days to measure nutrient use.

Results: Among the treatment groups, differences in DM, CP (P<.001), OM, and ADF (P<.01) digestibility were noted. T5 and T3 showed higher (P<.001) DM and CP digestibility, respectively, in comparison to the other treatment groups. There was no difference in the digestibility of ADF between T5 and T3, but it was higher for T5 than for the lambs in T1, T2, and T4. Conversely, T1 showed low digestion of OM and CP.

Conclusion: Thus, the study concluded that supplementing Begait lambs with an equal amount of cowpea to wheat bran (150 g CPH + 150 g WB) outweighs the dry matter and nutritional digestibility of the lambs and that it is crucial to address the feed scarcity in the study area at a reasonable cost.