On-Farm Evaluation of the Effect of Processed Sweet Lupin Grain Supplementation on Growth Performance and Economic Feasibility of Doyogena Sheep in Doyogena District, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was carried out in Doyogena district, Kembata Tembaro Zone, southern Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of supplemental processed sweet lupin grain on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, and growth performance of yearling Doyogena sheep and estimate the economic return of processing options when the sheep fed a basal diet of natural pasture hay. Twenty-four yearling male sheep with initial body weight of 27.53 ± 2.67 kg (mean ± SD) were used for the experiment. Before starting the experiment, the animals were quarantined for 21 days and vaccinated for common small ruminant diseases including anthrax and pasteurellosis, de-wormed, and sprayed against internal and external parasites. Afterward, all experimental sheep were adapted for 15 days to the treatment feeds. The experiment involved 90 days and followed by a digestibility trial of 7 days. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with six blocks consisting of four animals per block based on their initial body weight. Animals in each block were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments. The dietary treatments were comprised of supplementation of concentrate mixture (T1), roasted coarsely ground sweet lupin grain (T2), soaked sweet lupin grain (T3), and steamed sweet lupin grain (T4). The concentrate portion was composed of noug (Guizotia abyssinica) cake (30%), wheat bran (35%), coarsely ground maize grain (35%), and salt (1%). Natural pasture hay was offered as a basal diet ad libitum (~20% refusal). The amount of supplement offered was 440 g/day/head-on dry matter basis. The daily supplement was divided into two equal portions, with the first provided in the morning and the second in the afternoon. Water and salt licks were available freely. The pasture hay used as a basal feed in the current study contained 6.8% crude protein (CP), 73.1% neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and 43.6% acid detergent fiber (ADF).The mean processed sweet lupin grain contained 33.75% crude protein, 88% digestible protein, and 85% metabolizable energy content. Sheep consumed control diet was lower (p<0.001) basal dry matter intake (378.79 g/day/head) as compared to the sweet lupin supplemented group (T2-T4). Total DM intake was higher for the sheep under the (T2-T4 treatments) compared to the control (T1). Sweet lupin supplementation significantly improved the digestibility of DM, OM, CP, NDF, ADF, final body weight (FBW), feed conversion efficiency (FCE), and average daily gain (P<0.001). Economic analysis showed that supplementation with T4 resulted in the highest net returns followed by T3 and T2. The sheep fed steamed sweet lupin grain in (T4) had the highest net return was observed in (3111.92 ETB) and highest MRR in ratio (53.35). The sheep supplemented with concentrate mixture in (T1) had the lowest net return (1695.89 ETB) as compared to the other supplemented treatments. Thus, it can be concluded that supplementation of processed sweet lupin grain could enhance animal performance through improved intake, digestibility, and weight gain. From this study, it appears that supplementation of natural pasture hay with 440g/day/ head processed sweet lupin grain is biologically efficient and potentially profitable in the feeding of Doyogena sheep.