Evaluation of Substitution of Noug Seed Cake with Pigeon Pea Dried Leaves as a Supplement Feed in Fattening Oxen Based on Teff Straw Basal Diet at Haik Agricultural Research Sub-Center, Ethiopia

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to evaluate substitution of noug seed cake with dried pigeon pea leaves on feed intake and weight gain of local old oxen. A total of 25 local old oxen (Bos indicus) with 7-8 years old and an initial mean body weight of 300.2±19.25 kg (mean±SD) were used for the study. The experiment was carried out for 105 days including 15 days of acclimatization period. The design employed for this experiment was randomized complete block design with five replications. The dietary treatments were T1= Teff straw ad libtum +Wheat bran + Pigeon pea (25%)+ Noug seed cake(75%) ; T2= Teff straw ad libtum+ Wheat bran + Pigeon pea (50%)+ Noug seed cake (50%); T3=Teff straw ad libtum + Wheat bran + Pigeon pea (75%)+ Noug seed cake(25%); T4= Teff straw ad libtum+ Wheat bran +Pigeon pea (100%); T5= Teff straw ad libtum +Wheat bran + Noug seed cake (100%). The result showed that crude protein content of Pigeon pea dried leaves (24.47%), noug seed cake (31.92%) and wheat bran (15.98%) can satisfy ruminant production requirement. Total dry matter, teff straw and nutrient intake were statically highly significant (P<0.01, P<0.001, P<0.001) respectively between treatment groups but supplement intake was not statically significant (P>0.05) among treatment groups. The average total DM intakes of all treatment groups were ranged from 7.29 to 8.09 kg/d/head. There were no significant differences(P>0.05) in initial body weight gain, final body weight gain, total body weight gain and average daily body weight gain among different combinations of treatment groups. The average daily weight gain (675.56 g), gross benefit (2159.96 ETB) and marginal revenue 1.11ETB of treatment 2 was higher than other treatment groups. Therefore, it is recommended that fattening of old local oxen using supplement combination levels of teff straw+ wheat bran+ 50%pigeon pea+ 50% noug cake resulted better body weight gain and good benefit.