| Popis: |
Influence of selected tropical roughages on rumen microbial profile and nutrient utilization in West African Dwarf sheep was investigated. Twenty-four female sheep (mean body weight of 12.2 kg) were divided into four treatment groups in a completely randomized design. Treatments were Panicum hay (PH), urea-treated (5%) corncob (UCC), urea-treated (5%) sugar cane top (UST) and cassava leaf hay (CH). All animals were supplemented with the concentrate at 2% of body weight on a dry matter basis and fed their respective experimental diets ad libitum for 84 days. Performance characteristics, nitrogen utilization and rumen microbial count were studied, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was done. Data collected were analysed using one-way analysis of variance. Results showed that animals on UST and PH (89.73 and 87.82 g/kgBW0.75respectively) performed best in terms of dry matter (DM) intake, while UCC (62.70 g/kgBW0.75) group had least value. Highest weight gain was recorded for animals fed with UST (38.14 g/day). Nitrogen utilization revealed that animals on CH (10.61 g/day) had best nitrogen retention compared to animals on other treatments. Highest but similar count of cellulolytic bacteria was recorded for animals fed with PH and UST (7.25 and 7.06 × 108 CFU/g rumen content respectively), while animals on CH had least value (2.50 × 108 CFU/g rumen content). Similar trend was observed in the result of predominant cellulolytic bacterial presence analysed using PCR technique. From the gel electrophoresis bands, it was inferred the highest value in UST treatment with Fibrobacter succinogenes having highest intensity. All tropical roughages investigated could be used as feed for ruminant animals especially during dry season. |
