COMPARATIVE FEEDLOT PERFORMANCE OF WASHERA AND HORRO SHEEP FED DIFFERENT ROUGHAGE TO CONCENTRATE RATIO MScThesis ASSEFU GIZACHEW January, 2012 HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY ii COMPARATIVE FEEDLOT PERFORMANCE OF WASHERA AND HORRO SHEEP FED DIFFERENT ROUGHAGE TO CONCENTRATE RATIO A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies (School of Animal and Range Sciences) HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE (ANIMAL PRODUCTION) By Assefu Gizachew January, 2012 Haramaya University iii SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY As Thesis research advisors, we hereby, certify that we have read and evaluated this Thesis prepared under our guidance by Assefu Gizachew, entitled Comparative Feedlot Performance of Washera and Horro Sheep Fed Different Roughage to Concentrate Ratio. We recommend that it be submitted as fulfilling the Thesis requirement __________________ ____________________ _____________ Major Adviser Signature Date __________________ _______________ _____________ Co-Adviser Signature Date As member of the Board of Examiners of the MSc Thesis Open Defense Examination, we certify that we have read and evaluated, the Thesis prepared by Assefu Gizachew and examined the candidate. We recommend that the Thesis be accepted as fulfilling the Thesis requirement for the Degree of Master of Science in Agriculture (Animal Production). _________________ ______________ ______________ Chair Person Signature Date _________________ ______________ __________________ Internal Examiner Signature Date _____________ ______________ __________________ External Examiner Signature Date iv DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis manuscript to my beloved grandmother Emahoy Elifinesh Belete, to my beloved late sister and brother Zufan Gashaw and Hayimanot Gashawr respectively. v STATEMENT OF THE AUTHOR I declare that this thesis is my bonafide work and that all sources of materials used for this thesis have been duly acknowledged. This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for MSc degree at Haramaya University and is deposited at the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. I declare that this thesis is not submitted to any other institution anywhere for the award of any academic degree, diploma, or certificate. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the Head of the Major Department or the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. Name: Assefu Gizachew Mekonnen Signature: _______________ Place; Haramaya University, Haramaya Date of Submission: ____________________ vi LIST OF ABBREVATIONS AOAC Association of Official Analytical Chemists ATVET Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training BOA Bureau of Agriculture BOARD Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development BW Body weight CSA Central Statistics Agency EPA Ethiopian Privation Agency FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation ILRI International Livestock Research Institute IPMS Integrated program and market success m.a. s. l. Meter above sea level ME Metabolizable energy REMA Rib eye muscle area SAS Stastical Analysis System M Medium L Low H High vii BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH The author was born in Bahir Dar town, West Gojjam Zone in Amhara National Regonal State on March 12, 1960 G.C She attend her elementary school education in Bahir Dar Atse Sertse Dingle- Melak Seged Elementary school and her junior and secondary school at Bahir Dar Atse Sertsr Dingle-Melak Seged Comprehensive high school. After completion of her high school education, she joined Hawassa Junior Agricultural College in September 7, 1979 G.C Diploma program and graduated in Animal Science in August, 1980 G.C. Soon after graduation she was employed by the Ministry of Agriculture in animal husbandry at Woreda level. She worked in different Woredas of Gojam Province, in different animal Science section at different position for twenty years. She joined Mekelle University in July 17, 2000 G.C in Department of Animal and Range Science. She graduated in August 7, 2002 G.C and join back to her previous working Woreda as expert of forage development. In July 3, 2008 G.C she was transferred to West Gojjam Zone Agricultural Development Office. From there she joined the School of Graduate Studies of Haramaya University in June, 2009G.C to pursue her MSc, degree in Animal Production through financial grant obtained from IPMS project, ILRI. viii AKNOWLEDGEMENT At the outset I would like to praise the almighty God for the blessing and guidance that I received from him to undertake the research work and for successful completion of this work. This work was made possible through the coordinated efforts and willingness of many large hearted individuals. I only mentioned a few of them. I am highly indebted to my major and co- advisor Dr. Mengistu Urge and Dr. Getachew Animut for their guidance, technical advice and excellent cooperation from the very beginning of this work, which enabled me to complete the study. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to ILRI, IMPS project for the financial support provided to me and for Bure ATVET Collage especially Ato Eshetu Teshome, Ato Simachew Gashu and all Bure ATVET College staff member for allowing to use the experimental facilities in the campus. I would also like to thank the head of Bahir Dar Seed purity and forage Laboratory, Ato Ahmed and all the staff members. I also express my heart-felt thanks to Ato Gebru tefera, Ato Getnet Tariku Bure woreda Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development head and Ato Belachew for the research material support and their kindness. Special thanks go to my mother, W/ro Tsehay Genberea, my sister Meseret Gashaw, Titna Gashaw, and to all my family. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF THE AUTHOR ............................................................................................. v BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ..................................................................................................... vii AKNOWLEDGEMENT............................................................................................................viii LIST OF ABBREVATIONS ....................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................xiii 1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................................................... 3 2.1. Status and Role of Sheep Production in Ethiopia ................................................................ 3 2. 2. Influence of Nutrition on Body Weight and Carcass Composition of Sheep..................... 4 2.3. Influence of Breed on Carcass Composition of Sheep ........................................................ 6 2.4. Washera Sheep Breed .......................................................................................................... 7 2.5. Horro Sheep Breed .............................................................................................................. 7 2.6. Livestock Feed Resources ................................................................................................... 8 2.6.1. Natural pasture........................................................................................................... 9 2.6.2. Grass hay ................................................................................................................. 10 2.7. Nutrient Requirement of Sheep for Growth ...................................................................... 11 2.8. Role of Supplementation ................................................................................................... 12 2.8.1. Noug seed cake as a supplement ............................................................................. 13 2.8.2. Wheat bran as a supplement .................................................................................... 14 3. MATERIALS AND METHOD.............................................................................................. 16 3.1. The Study Area .................................................................................................................. 16 3.2. Experimental Animals and Their Management ................................................................. 16 3.3. Feeds and Feeding Management ....................................................................................... 17 3.4. Experimental Design and Treatments................................................................................ 17 3.5. Digestibility Trial .............................................................................................................. 19 3.6. Feeding Trial...................................................................................................................... 18 3.7. Carcass Analysis................................................................................................................ 19 3.8. Chemical Analysis ............................................................................................................. 20 3.9. Data Analysis..................................................................................................................... 21 x 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................................. 22 4.1. Chemical Composition of Experimental Diets .................................................................. 22 4.2. Feed Intake ........................................................................................................................ 23 4.3. Nutrient digestibility.......................................................................................................... 26 4.4. Body Weight Change and Feed Conversion Efficiency .................................................... 28 4.5. Carcass Characteristics ...................................................................................................... 29 4.6. Edible and Non-Edible Offal ............................................................................................. 33 5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION........................................................................................ 38 6. REFERENCES........................................................................................................................ 40 7. APPENDIX .............................................................................................................................. 50 xi LIST OF TABLES IN THE TEXT Table Page 1. Energy and protein requirements for growing sheep .......................................................11 2. Experimental treatments ..................................................................................................18 3. Composition of experimental feedstuffs consumed by Horro and Washera yearling male lambs....................................................................................................................... 22 4. Dry matter and nutrient intakes of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios .......................................................................... 25 5. Dry matter and nutrient digestibility coefficients of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios ............................................ 27 6. Body weight change, daily body weight gain and feed conversion efficiency of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios ...... 30 7. Main carcass components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios .......................................................................... 32 8.Edible offal components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios ......................................................................................... 35 9. Non-edible offal components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios .......................................................................... 37 xii LIST OF TABLES IN THE APPENDIX Table pages 1. Summary of ANOVA for dry matter and nutrient intakes of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios ......................................51 2. Summary of ANOVA for dry matter and nutrient digestibility coefficients of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios .............51 3. Summary of ANOVA for main carcass components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios ............................................52 4. Summary of ANOVA for main carcass components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios ............................................53 5. Summary of ANOVA for edible offal components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios ............................................54 6. Summary of ANOVA for non-edible offal components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios ............................................55 xiii COMPARATIVE FEEDLOT PERFORMANCE OF WASHERA AND HORRO SHEEP FED DIFFERENT ROURHAGE TO CONCENTRATE RATIO ABSTRACT A study was conducted using thirty male intact Washera and Horro sheep (15 from each breed) with initial body weight (BW) of 19.01±0.37 kg (mean ± SD) to compare feed intake, digestibility, growth performance and carcass characteristics of the animals fed diet containing hay:concentrate ratio of 70:30 (L), 60:40 (M), 50:50 (H). The concentrate contained 30:70 (noug seed cake:wheat bran). Animals of each breed were blocked based on initial BW and were randomly assigned to the dietary treatments. The experimental design was therefore a 2*3 factorial in RCBD. The experiment had a 90 days feeding and 7 days digestibility trials and carcass evaluation at the end. The crude protein (CP) contents of the three diets were 13.7, 15.5 and 18.1% for L, M and H, respectively. Daily dry matter (DM) and CP intakes were only affected by diet (P < 0.05). Intake of DM (720, 812 and 859 g/day (SEM = 22.9)) was lower for L, but was similar (P > 0.05) for M and H. CP intake (105, 130 and 160 g/day (SEM = 3.5) was in the order of L < M < H (P < 0.05). The apparent digestibility coefficients of DM and CP were unaffected (P > 0.05) by genotype, diet or their interaction and were above 60%. Average daily body weight gain (ADG) were significantly impacted only by diet (P < 0.05), and ADG (37, 46, 54 (SEM = 4.0)) was greater (P < 0.05) for H than L with value for M being similar to L and H. Effect of genotype and diet x genotype interaction failed to be significant (P > 0.05) in all the main carcass parameters measured. Diet had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on hot carcass weight. Hot carcass weight (7.6, 8.2, 8.8 kg (SEM = 0.32)) was lower (P < 0.05) for L than H with value for M being similar to L and H. In conclusion this study highlighted that Washera and Horro sheep had a similar performance under the feeding regime used in this study, and it appeared that both breeds perform better in the diet containing the highest level of concentrate used in the current study. 1 1. INTRODUCTION Livestock production is an important component of the farming systems in all parts of Ethiopian and plays a vital role in the livelihood of many people (Alemu, 1990). Ethiopia is a country with varying agro-ecologies and subsequent variation in vegetation and crop types that resulted in larger and varied livestock population in Africa (FAO, 2001). The livestock population of Ethiopia is estimated to be 47 million cattle, 26.12 million sheep, 21.71 million goats, 5.55 million donkeys, 1.78 million horses, 0.38 million mules, 1.0 million camels and 53.0 million poultry (CSA, 2007/08). Small ruminants (sheep and goats) have a unique niche in smallholder agriculture because of the fact that they require small investments; have shorter production cycles, faster growth rates and greater environmental adaptability as compared to large ruminants. They are important in protein sources and help to provide extra income and support survival for many farmers in the tropics and sub-tropics (Markos et al., 2006). Sheep production in the crop livestock mixed farming systems of the mid-altitude and highland areas of Ethiopia has very important role in contributing to the food security as well as in generating direct cash income. Survey conducted in central Ethiopia showed that sheep provide more than 30% of the domestic meat consumption and generate cash income from exports of live animals, meat and skin (Zelalem and Fletcher, 1991). Irrespective of their number, however, the productivity of sheep per head is low mainly because of inadequate year round nutrition, both in terms of quantity and quality, unimproved genetic potential and due to prevalence of diseases and parasites (DAGRIS, 2006; Marcos et al., 2006). This is because of the fact that in Ethiopia, livestock obtain most of their feed from grazing of unimproved natural pasture and crop residues. Moreover, most natural pasturelands are nowadays put under intensified crop production due to the increasing human population pressure and the remaining lands are heavily grazed and cannot meet the nutritional requirement of livestock, resulting in reduced growth rate, low production, poor fertility and high mortality particularly in the dry season (Solomon, 2004). Aftermath grazing and crop residue accounts for 60 to 70% of available basal diet in the highlands of Ethiopia. Such feeds are inherently low in nutritive value such as protein, digestible energy and minerals, which may result in sub-optimal rumen fermentation and lowered animal performance (Seyoum and 2 Zinash, 1998). As a result, animals could not realize their genetic potential within the growth period for the breed. Ethiopia possesses a diversified number of sheep breed types, reported to be more than 18 (DAGRIS, 2004). The performance of some of these breeds were evaluated and documented. Washera and Horro sheep are among the breeds with high potential for growth and reproduction. Washera sheep can attain a daily body weight gain in the range of 25 to 34.3 g when supplemented with 200-400 g noug seedcake, wheat bran and brewery dried gain mixtures with urea treated rice straw basal diet (Abebe, 2008). Similarly, Solomon et al. (1991) reported 94.8-136.8 g gain per day in grazing Horo sheep supplemented with graded level (200-500 g per day) of concentrate mixture of noug seed cake and maize. In Bure Woreda, these two sheep breeds are found distributed across all agro-ecologies of the woreda. Although some research results are available concerning their productivity, comparative performance study concerning the two breeds were not undertaken. Thus, information about the comparative performance is not available to provide a concrete recommendation about the fattening performance of the two breeds. Moreover, although small ruminant fattening is a common practice and one of the livestock improvement package in the Bure woreda and the Amhara region, appropriate feeding package that suit a short period of fattening cycle is not made available to small scale and large scale producers. One of the feeding practices that need to be studied is the proportion of roughage to concentrate ratio that can enhance the performance of the animal and is economical. The present experiment is, therefore, envisaged to compare the performance of Washera and Horro sheep breeds fed different proportion of roughage to concentrate ratio. Therefore, the objectives of the current study were to compare feed intake, digestibility, growth performance and carcass characteristics of Washera and Horro sheep fed diets containing different proportion of roughage to concentrate ratio. 3 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Status and Role of Sheep Production in Ethiopia In Ethiopia, sheep are reared mainly by smallholder farmers and grazed in small flocks on commercial open natural pasture (CSA, 2004). Ethiopia’s sheep population is estimated at 26.12 million (CSA, 2007/08). This is the third largest in Africa (FAO, 2004) with more than 18 breed types (DAGRIS, 2004). The diverse sheep genetic resource is distributed in the highland and lowland areas. The production potential of different indigenous sheep breeds has not been properly studied. However, from the available limited information, indigenous sheep breeds have small body size, produce low quality wool, and have low lamb growth rate and quite high lamb mortality Markos et al (2006). The annual off take rate of sheep flock in Ethiopia was estimated to be 33% (EPA, 2002), with an average weight of about 10 kg (FAO, 2001; CSA, 2004) which is the second lowest in Sub Saharan Africa. Various recent research reports also agree with this fact. Awet (2007), Mulu et al. (2008), Abebe (2008) and Tesfay and Solomon (2008) reported carcass yield of 9.7, 9.6, 10.8 and 9.6 kg in different indigenous breeds of sheep on different types of feeds, respectively. It is estimated that most of the local sheep breeds have a very low post weaning average body weight of 15-20 kg (Awigichew, 2000). This shows that there is scope for improvement through management practice such as improved feeding and veterinary service. Even if the productivity of indigenous breeds is low compared with temperate breeds, their ability to survive and produce in the harsh and mostly unpredictable tropical environment is remarkable. In mixed crop-livestock system, sheep represents less than 10% of farm capital invested in livestock, yet contribute as much as 23-63% to the net cash income and 19-23% to the food subsistence value derived from livestock production (Zelalem and Fletcher, 1991). The total mutton produced in the country is 551,000 metric tones and small ruminant meat export from Ethiopia is 21,000 metric tones (FAO, 2006). Small ruminants are useful to rural households during periods of cyclical and unpredictable food shortages. The small size and early maturity of sheep give them several distinct economic advantages in smallholder farming situations, such as that found in Ethiopia. They can efficiently utilize marginal and small plots of land; 4 the risk on investment is reduced by smaller individual size, allowing more production units per unit of investment; and there is a faster turnover of capital because they mature early and younger at slaughter (Chipman, 2003). Smaller weight of carcasses is also easier to market and can be consumed in a short period of time in situations that allow less opportunity for preservation. This is important as most rural areas lack proper storage facilities. 2. 2. Influence of Nutrition on Body Weight and Carcass Composition of Sheep Plane of nutrition is the major factor influencing the fat deposition pattern of animals whereby high plane of nutrition promotes earlier fattening while a low plane results in a delayed or slower fattening process. In a study (Villete and Theriez, 1981), it is indicated that birth weight has an indirect effect on carcass composition by influencing age at slaughter and birth weights are positively correlated with nutrition. According to these authors, a study on some French sheep has shown that for every 1 kg increase in birth weight, there was a decrease by 13 days of slaughter age. It is possible to manipulate growth paths of lambs maintained on relatively poor quality pasture to produce carcasses of better quantity and quality (Thatcher and Gaunt, 1992). Fat is deposited only if surplus nutrients are available. According to Gatenby (1986), the higher the level of nutrition or the lower the growth capacity, the more fat is deposited in lambs at any given age and body weight. In carcass merit evaluation, dressing percentage is an important trait. However, according to the review by Ruvuna et al. (1992), dressing percent is known to be affected by breed, age, castration and it is also highly affected by feeding and degree of fattening. They have also reported that proportion of lean and fat in carcasses increased with age while the proportion of bone decreased. Gruszecki et al. (1994) have reported that the carcass composition of Polish Lowland sheep and its crosses, whose slaughter weights range from 38- 40 kg, to be in the range of 61-63 % lean, 17-20 % fat and 19-22 % bone. In a similar investigation on mutton-type lambs of diverse genetic background Streitz et al. (1994) observed that lean and fat content of carcasses were 62.4 % and 16.8%, respectively for those lambs which had below 30 kg live weight and 58.2 % and 3.6%, respectively for those above 30 kg live weight. 5 Ruminant production is a function of nutrition, health, genetics, climate and management among which nutrition plays an important role (Seyoum et al., 1996). Searle et al. (1972) showed the influence of nutrition on growth rate and body composition in their systematic investigation of the course of growth in 30 crossbreed sheep that had restricted and free access to feed. Their findings showed significant difference between the well-fed and restricted groups. Moreover, the energy content of weight gain was lower and the protein and water content higher in the restricted group maintained on the low plane of nutrition. Season of birth of lamb was also found to have some influence on the proportion of the major body chemical compositions. In general, the body of lambs born in the wet season, the season when adequate feed is to be found, contains a little more fat and less protein than lambs born into the dry season. Although some of the differences between lambs born in the different seasons were not significant, there seems to be some advantage of lambing in the wet season as lambs were able to maintain good body condition throughout the growth period (Enyew, 1999). Ulfina et al.(1999) reported a significant effect on omental and kidney fat, back fat thickness and rib-eye muscle area for a pre-market supplementary feeding of old Horro ewes. Solomon (1995) also showed a significant effect of supplementation on all carcass measurements of Horro sheep, except back fat thickness. Sibanda et al. (1989) reported similar results on water, fat, and protein contents of the carcass by feeding different levels of dietary protein to lambs. . Due to a strong breed influence on body composition (Taylor et al., 1989), there could be better opportunities to select among breeds for differences in this trait even at a similar maturity level in body weights. Berg and Walters (1983) suggested that in meat producing animals, the proportion of muscle to live weight could be a valuable index of yield since genetic differences appear to be of major importance. Other factors influencing lean meat percentage are carcass weight, body conformation (muscling), dissection method, lean mass measuring method and procedure (Walstra and de Greef, 1995). Tissue growth patterns and the resulting changes in chemical composition of the body are very much influenced by many interrelated environmental as well as genetic factors (Orr, 1982). According to the above author, animals of the same species mostly vary in their mature body size and weight which is also reflected in the differences of 6 their carcass composition. Fat deposition is believed to start relatively slowly and to increase geometrically as the animal enters a fattening phase (Berg and Walters, 1983). The authors have also reported that there exist genetic differences in fat deposition which exists among breeds due to different growth capacity and maturity. 2.3. Influence of Breed on Carcass Composition of Sheep Characterization of breeds for carcass composition is a method through which potential genetic resources for lean lamb production could be identified. Therefore, carcass composition could be used as a parameter in breed characterization to identify potential genetic resources for lean lamb production and in understanding the management alternatives required for different genotypes (Snowder et al., 1994; Dickerson et al., 1972). The existence of genetic variation among breeds in growth and carcass characteristics have been described by Crouse et al. (1981). The authors have observed the existence of genetic variation among the American sheep breeds studied in growth rate and carcass characteristics. Some of the breeds had higher percentage of kidney, pelvic and subcutaneous fat while others like the Suffolk had higher growth rate and 22% less kidney and pelvic fat. Snowed et al. (1994) have concluded that when slaughter weight is held constant, carcass characteristic differences of breeds contribute to the variation in quality of lamb meat. This suggests that a relatively late maturing sheep could produce heavier carcasses of higher lean percentage. Breed effects are known to influence not only carcass composition and quality but also carcass conformation. Breed differences in carcass merits could influence the choice and development of breeds for specific production objectives. This could be realized through strategic identification and utilization of the existing breeds. In a study on some Egyptian sheep breeds, El Karim and Owen (1987) have observed no significant breed type or sex differences in the proportion of lean, bone and fat in dissected sides of carcasses. However, they have observed that the fat content was more variable than either lean or bone percentage. According to this study, fat depth over the rib eye muscle was significantly influenced by breed and sex. Similar findings were also reported by Snowder et 7 al. (1994) and concluded that such differences in carcass characteristics are expected particularly if breeds differ in their physiological maturity. 2.4. Washera Sheep Breed In Amhara National Regional State, based on external body similarities and body conformation criteria, four sheep breeds are identified, namely East Amhara Highlands sheep, West Amhara Highland sheep, Rift Valley sheep and West Amhara Lowland sheep (Sissay, 2002). The Washera sheep which is widely distributed in West Gojam are categorized as west Amhara Highland sheep. Washera sheep is short fat tailed, large body sized and short haired. The dominant coat colors are black, red, white and brown and both male and female are polled and reared by Amhara and Agew communities (Solomon et al., 2007). The same source reported that Washera sheep is fast growing with mature body weight and average birth weight of 32.8 kg and 2.8 kg, respectively. A comparison of the growth performance of Washera sheep with other indigenous breeds such as the Menz and Horro sheep showed that they have much better growth performance under improved feeding system (Chipman, 2003). It was also reported by Sheno Agricultural Research Center (SARC, 2003) that the potential response of yearling Washera sheep to concentrate supplementation was found to be higher than that of Menz and Horro breed. 2.5. Horro Sheep Breed Horro breed/type is named after one of the areas of Western Ethiopia in which the sheep breed is widely found (Kassahun Augechew and Getachew, H.1986). The Horro sheep is widely distributed in the western part of the country in the area which lies within 35o-38oE and 6o-10oN (Galal, 1983). Sheep of this breed are rather uniform in color, mostly of solid tan (very light brown) to dark brown. Exceptionally, they may be creamy white, black or spotted. The body is covered with short smooth hair. The face has a straight profile but is some what convex in the rams. The ears are of the semi-pendulous type. Wattles are rare and beards are absent. Both females and males are hornless, except for the very rare appearance of males with curved horns. The fat tail is triangular with a relatively narrow base and the pointed end hangs down ward or with a slight twist, reaching just below the hocks. Often the rams have a 8 mane between the head and the brisket and above the neck and shoulder. The main height at shoulder is 73±1.3 cm for adult males and 68±0.8 cm for ewes (Galal, 1983). 2.6. Livestock Feed Resources Feeds are materials which after ingestion by the animals are capable of being digested, absorbed and utilized (McDonald et al., 2002). In the commonly found mixed crop livestock farming system as in the highlands of Ethiopia, the feed resources available depend on the type and manner of crop production. In such areas, the major available feed resources are natural pasture, crop residues and crop aftermaths (Solomon et al., 2008a, 2008b). To some extent agro-industrial by-products and cultivated improved forage crops are also used. However, natural pasture does not fulfill the nutritional requirement of animals, particularly in the dry season, due to poor management and inherent low productivity and poor quality (Alemayhu, 2003). The crop residues which are the major livestock feeds, particularly in the dry seasons provide 40 to 50% of the total annual livestock feed (Daniel, 1988). A survey conducted in 56 districts of Amhara Regional State showed that feeds obtained from grazing land were inadequate for livestock in the region both in quantity and quality during wet and dry seasons of the year (Fentie and Solomon, 2008). The balance between total feed produced and livestock requirement was 36.2% short in moisture deficit and 14.8% deficit in sufficient rainfall districts. This showed that the annual feed supply from pasture, hay and crop residues satisfied only 63.8 and 85.2% in moisture deficit and rainfall sufficient districts, respectively and on average only satisfied 74.5% of the maintenance requirements of livestock in all the studied districts (BoA, 2003). Therefore, the feed available was inadequate to support the maintenance requirement of the livestock population in the region. 9 2.6.1. Natural pasture Pasture in the tropics and subtropics grow rapidly during periods of heavy rainfall and high temperature (Van Soest, 1994) leading to mature pasture plants containing high levels of cell wall constituents (Yihalem et al., 2006; Solomon et al., 2008a, 2008b). Pastures are young and green for only short periods. The nutritive values of pasture decreases with maturity. During the dry seasons, available feed is of low digestibility and low in nitrogen content. When used strategically, feed grown on land set aside from cropping can provide special grazing for animals currently producing or being prepared to produce outputs of high value. The major factor that limits animal production and the causes of poor performance of animals fed on low quality hay is due to their failure to support maximum microbial activity in the rumen because of which digestibility of cell wall fiber becomes low and hence the animals lose weight in the dry season due to the nutritional imbalances in the feed available (Preston and Leng, 1987). Natural pastures in the highlands of Ethiopia are rich in species composition, particularly indigenous grasses and legumes. Among grass species commonly growing belongs to the genera Andropogon, Digitaria, Panicum, Pennisetum and Trifolium (Kidane, 1993; Yihalem et al., 2006). In mixed farming mid- altitude areas, better soil are used for cropping and the main permanent natural pasture lands are found on the upper slopes of hills and seasonally water logged areas. Considering the country as a whole, grazing land contribute 53% (FAO, 2001) of the total land area. Even through the size of the grazing area seems to be large, the yield and quality of the pasture is very low due to poor management and overstocking. Moreover, most of this native pastures are generally confined to degraded, shallow upland soils, fallow cropland and to soil that can not be successfully cropped because of physical constraints such as flooding and water logging. 10 2.6.2. Grass hay Hay is forage harvested during the growing period and preserved by drying. The aim of hay making is to reduce the moisture contents of green crops to 15-20% to inhibit the action of plant and microbial enzymes (Banerjee, 1998). Despite its several advantages, hay has some shortcomings. It varies in nutrient content and palatability more than any other feed, late hay harvest affects its quality (Ensiminger et al., 1990). Hay in central highlands of Ethiopia is usually harvested after the CP of the pasture passed peak production, and the protein content harvested on DM basis was usually less than 5%, which is below the level of maintenance requirement for ruminants (Solomon et al., 2008a). This level of CP content reduces feed intake and affects digestibility (Kidane, 1993). Feeds low in digestible protein such as mature dry native grasses require supplementation with some kind of nitrogenous feed (Devendra, 1982). Natural pasture would be adequate for body maintenance and weight gain during wet season, but would not support maintenance level for the rest of the year (Zinash et al., 1995). Similar findings were also reported by Yihalem et al. (2006). Maximum production cannot be achieved on hay alone, even if the productive requirements of animals are low rather it is used for feeding during the time of year when grazing is not available or for feeding of confined animals and it might also be satisfactory for maintenance of mature ruminant animals (Church, 1986). According to FAO (1997) annual and perennial grass from natural pasture consumed during the dry season and often at late stage of maturity together with the straw and stalk from cereal crops constitutes low quality forages, with high lignified cell wall and poor nitrogen. Therefore, for reasonable level of production, animals subsisting on hay require supplementary protein, which can be obtained from different sources such as from oil seed cakes or non- protein nitrogenous (NPN) and energy sources (Kabaija and Little, 1988). The quality of hay prepared varies with grass legume proportion, leaf to stem ratio and physiological development of the forage up on harvest. Mature grass, especially those that are weather leached or bleached are low in digestible energy and protein, as well as in soluble carbohydrate, carotene and some of the minerals (Ensminger et al., 1990). In experiments 11 conducted on feeding hay alone and concentrate supplementation, sheep that were fed hay alone lost 9 g/day (Fentie and Solomon, 2008). Similarly, Mulu et al. (2008) and Jemberu (2008) reported that sheep fed hay alone lost 3 g/day and 7.7 g/day, respectively with the CP content being 35, 42, and 52 g/kg, respectively. Therefore, hay alone may not be even enough to satisfy the maintenance requirement of animals. 2.7. Nutrient Requirement of Sheep for Growth Energy, protein, lipids, mineral, vitamins and water are the main nutrients required by sheep, similar to other animals. The nutrient requirements are the values considered necessary for maintenance, optimum production, and prevention of any signs of any nutritional deficiency. As an example, the energy and protein requirements for growth of sheep weighing between 20-40 kg are given in Table 1. Table 1. Energy and protein requirements for growing sheep Nutrients Live weight (kg) Gain (g/day) Calculated per kg BW0.75 0 50 100 Maintenance For 1 g gain ME (MJ/day) 20 30 40 4.1 5.6 7.0 5.1 7.0 8.7 6.2 8.5 10.7 0.43 0.44 0.44 0.02 0.02 0.04 Protein (g/day) 20 30 40 30 45 45 40 55 70 60 65 85 3.17 4.76 2.83 0.30 0.20 0.40 Source: ARC (1980) The energy need of sheep is mainly attained through the consumption and digestion of roughage, pasture and hay. The microflora action in the rumen of sheep efficiently converts roughages into suitable energy sources provided they have adequate supply of nitrogen. The energy requirement of sheep is affected by body weight and rate of growth (gain) and protein content of the ration. Large animals require higher energy to attain their maintenance 12 requirement than smaller animals. This is because of the increased rate of metabolism for energy in large animals. Moreover, fast rate of growth demands energy rich feeds or consumption of large amount feed. All growing animals including sheep need protein for maintenance and growth. Moreover, sheep need protein for the production of wool. The protein requirement of growing sheep is affected by growth rate, weight for age, body condition, rate of gain and protein to energy ratio. To achieve fast growth, adequate amount of protein should be supplied. Poor body conditioned animals require protein rich feeds to compensate for their growth. Rate of gain and protein to energy ratio affects growth, and increasing CP level in a diet increased the weight gain and retention of protein. 2.8. Role of Supplementation In feeding systems where straws and hay are the basic diet for ruminants, the low intake of these roughages requires supplementation to meet the requirement for production. The rate of growth and milk production by ruminants grazing tropical pastures, crop residue or grass hay alone are generally low and about 10% of the animals genetic potential (Leng, 1997). Therefore, it implies that strategic supplementation of energy; protein and minerals are important means of ensuring better animals performance. The aim of supplementation for ruminants feeding system is to alleviate nutritional deficiencies in the basal diet to maintain or increase intake of the basal diet (McMeniman et al., 1988). When ruminants are offered unsupplemented low quality roughage, they lose weight because of their inability to meet both energy and protein requirements (Nsahlai, 1991). Therefore, supplementation with nitrogen either as protein or non- protein nitrogen and energy has been shown to improve animal performance, mainly through increasing DM digestibility, intakes and balances of nutrients (Preston and Leng, 1987). Rates of fermentation of fibrous crop residues can often be improved by supplementing small amount of highly digestible protein and energy nutrients such as agro-industrial by-products (Leng and Preston, 1983). 13 According to FAO (1997), the objective of supplementation is to ensure additional supply of nutritional elements to the animals to allow it to develop target performance levels and to increase their feed intake. The purpose of supplementation is to provide rumen microorganism optimum readily degradable energy, nitrogen and /or minerals that will enhance activity of microorganisms and rumen function. Supplementation of low quality feeds with concentrates or forage legume enhances the utilization of the basal diet, thereby improving the performance of ruminants. For instance, Washera sheep achieved weight gain in the range 25- 35.3 g/day due to supplementation with 200-400 g/ noug seed cake, wheat bran and brewery dried grain in urea treated rice straw feeding regime (Abebe, 2008). Abebaw and Solomon (2008) and Emebet (2008) also reported better body weight gain for Farta sheep supplemented daily with 300 g noug seed cake, rice bran and brewery dried grain and their mixtures. According to Pond et al. (1995) consumption of low quality roughages such as straw and poor grass hay can be increased markedly by the addition of protein and supplements. Therefore, supplementation especially with protein supplements is critical particularly for young, rapidly growing and lactating animals (McDonald et al., 2002). 2.8.1. Noug seed cake as a supplement Noug seed cake is one of the oil seed cakes commonly produced in Ethiopia and used as animal feed. The total land coverage of noug seed cultivation in Ethiopia is 358, 828 hectare. From this land about 84,802.3 tones of noug seed is produced yielding an estimated amount of 19,000 tone noug seed cake production annually (MOARD, 2005). In Amhara Region, annually about 45,047.9 tones of noug seed is produced from which around 2928.1 ton of noug seed by-products are obtained (CSA, 2003). Oil extraction in the Amhara Region is done almost entirely by mechanical press, where old machines are predominantly used in the oil milling industry (CSA, 2003). Noug seed cake is influenced by its protein content, which depends on variety and method of processing, as processes that affect efficiency of edible oil extraction equally affect the cake quality (Alemu, 1981). The chemical composition of noug seed cake is 34.7 % NDF, 30.4% ADF and 12.2% ADL (Fentie and Solomon, 2008). Similarly Wondwosen (2008) reported that noug seed cake contains 91.9% DM, 29% CP, 11.2% ash, 38.5% NDF, 28.3% ADF, 11.2% ADL and 7.1% ether extracts (EE). 14 Noug seed cake has a very high essential to non- essential amino acid ratio with the exception of methioninc and cystine (Beyene, 1976). This author further reported that the essential amino acid of noug seed cake is claimed to be comparable to whole egg. According to Maza (1981), when compared to peanut cake is widely used as protein source for different classes of livestock. Noug cake increases rate of break down of feed in the rumen and improved dry matter intake of sheep when it constituted 45% of the diet based on oats straw (Baryant, 1973). 2.8.2. Wheat bran as a supplement The wheat grain consists of about 82 percent endosperm, 15 percent bran and 3 percent germ. In modern flour millings the objective is to separate the endosperm from the bran and germ (McDonald et al., 2002). According to Lonsdale (1989) wheat bran is described as the outer fibrous layer of the grain. When milling wheat, the effect of the initial shearing rollers (first break) is broadly to separate the outer fibrous layer from the rest of the grain and the germ. This separated portion predominantly consists of the husk or coarse bran and the thin paper layer from around the starch or fine bran. But very little starch (endosperm) is found with the bran. It is quite palatable, and is well known for its laxative characteristics because of its swelling and water holding capacity. These characteristics of wheat bran are due to its fiber and non starch carbohydrate content (Cheeke, 1991). It consists of about 17% CP (Devendra and Meleroy, 1982) and is relatively good source of most of the water soluble vitamins except for niacin, which is entirely unavailable (Pond et al., 1995). It is not considered to be a suitable feed for pigs and poultry because of its high fiber content (McDonald et al., 2002). Lonsdale (1989) nutritionally described wheat bran as low in density flaky ingredient which has traditionally been used to lighten meals, excellent ingredient in coarse mixes for young growing ruminants and quite palatable. The CP in wheat bran has a relatively high digestibility coefficient with degradability ranges of 0.50 to 0.70 (Lonsdale, 1989). Fiber and metabolizable energy (ME) contents vary slightly depending on variety of wheat being milled and the processing method used. 15 Wheat bran one of the energy sources concentrates contains linked polysaccharides. Feeds with such linkages are readily degraded in the rumen and have high levels of ME (Chesworth, 1992). According to Solomon (2001) wheat bran contained relatively lower level of CP, soluble phenolics, condensed tannins and higher neutral detergent fiber. It can increase the total DM, and the digestible organic matter when added to ruminant ration (Chowdhury, 1996). 16 3. MATERIALS AND METHOD 3.1. The Study Area The study was conducted at Burie ATVET college farm which is found in Amhara Regional State in west Gojjam zone at Bure woreda. The Woreda is located 398 km north of Addis Ababa and 148 km south of Bahir Dar, capital city of the Amhara Regional State. The mean annual rainfall is 1000-1500 mm and the mean minimum and maximum temperature are 17 oC and 22 oC, respectively. The Woreda has an altitude that ranges from 700-2350 m.a.s.l. The Woreda receives unimodal rainfall that extends from May to September. Burie Woreda is one of the major livestock producing areas in the region. The farming system is mainly mixed crop livestock production system. The major livestock raised are cattle, sheep, goat, equines and poultry. In the year 2008, the cattle and sheep population of the Woreda were 108,035 and 39,066, respectively (BOARD, 2008). The major crops grown in the area are maize (dominant) wheat, teff, pepper, millet, sesame ,barley and bean (BOARD,2008). 3.2. Experimental Animals and Their Management Intact yearling Harro and Washera sheep fifteen from each breed were purchased from local market and used for the experiment. The age of the animal was determined by dentition and the information obtained from the owners. The animals were held in quarantine for 21 days and observed for any health problem. During the quarantine period, animals were drenched with a broad spectrum anti-helemantic (Albendazole) against internal parasites and sprayed with accaricide (diazzinole) against external parasites. They were also vaccinated against anthrax and pasteurelosis. Following the quarantine period, the initial body weight of all animals was measured. The animals of each breed were blocked on the basis of their initial body weights into five blocks of three animals each. Therefore, there were five blocks for Washera sheep and another five blocks for Horro sheep to three dietary treatments or hay to concentrate ratios that were randomly assigned to the animals in the block (Table 1). All animals were kept in individual pens equipped with a bucket and a feeding through, and identified with neck collars with tag-numbers. The experimental animals were carefully observed for the occurrence of any ill health and records were taken for any physiological 17 disorder during the experimental period. The experimental duration consists of a 90 days feeding trial following by an acclimatization period of 15 days and 10 day’s digestibility trial period (3 days for adaptation to fecal collection bags and 7 days for measurement). 3.3. Feeds and Feeding Management Local mixed sward hay harvested from natural pasture and concentrate mixture was used to formulate treatment rations. The hay was purchased from the farmers nearby the town and manually chopped to a size of about 1.5 cm to minimize selective feeding by the experimental sheep. The hay was stored under shade to maintain its quality. The concentrate contained a mixture of noug seed cake and wheat bran at a ratio of 30:70. The concentrate feeds, noug seed cake and wheat bran was purchased from oil extracting industry and flour milling industry from BahirDar town and stored properly at the experimental site. The hay and concentrate mix was mixed in the ratios presented in Table 2 to formulate the three experimental diets. Diet formulation was done on a DM basis. The samples of concentrate mix and hay was taken for the determination of DM prior to the formulation of the diets. Animals were fed the formulated diets ad libitum at 20% in excess of daily consumption determined based on the previous five days average intake throughout the experimental period. All animals had free access to clean water and mineralized salt block. 3.4. Experimental Design and Treatments The experimental treatments arrangement was in a 2*3 factorial in a completely randomized block design (RCBD) with five replications. One factor is the breed with two breeds of sheep (Horro and Washera) and the second factor is roughage to concentrate ratio containing three levels (i.e., 30, 40, 50%) of concentrates. The experimental treatments are summarized in Table 2. 18 Table 2. Experimental treatments Treatment Breed Roughage : concentrate ratio1 Hay Concentrate T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 Horro Horro Horro Wasehra Wasehra Wasehra 70 60 50 70 60 50 30 40 50 30 40 50 1Diets were formulated to contain the different proportions of roughage to concentrate as shown in the table. 3.6. Digestibility Trial Before the feeding trial digestibility trial was done using all experimental animals. The animals were fitted with fecal collection bags for three days of adaptation to carrying fecal bags followed by a total collection of feces for seven days. During this period, daily feed offered and refusal and feces voided was weighed and recorded. Twenty percent of the total feces collected was sampled and stored in a deep freezer at – 20oC over the seven days of collection period. Samples of feed offered from each treatment diet and feed refusal of each animal and feces of each animal was taken each day in the morning and weekly composite samples were formed. At the end of the seventh day, fecal samples were thawed at room temperature thoroughly mixed and sub-sampled, and were stored in ice-box containers and transported to Bahir Dar Animal and Seed Laboratory and dried in an oven at 60oC for 72 h, and ground in Wiley mill to pass 1 mm sieve screen and kept in airtight containers until chemical analysis. The apparent digestibility of DM, OM, CP, NDF, and ADF were determined as a percentage of the nutrient intake not recovered in the feces using the following formula: Apparent digestibility (%) = (Nutrient intake – nutrient in feces) Nutrient intake 19 3.5. Feeding Trial The feeding trial lasted 90 days following an acclimatization period of 15 days to the experimental pens and treatment diets. The amount of feed offered and the ort was weighed for each animal and recorded to determine the amount of feed consumed as a difference between that offered and refused. Sample of the feed offered was taken once in the middle of the week, composited and sub-sampled to have one feed sample for each treatment for the entire experiment. Refusal was sampled for 7 days in the 7th week of the feeding trial. Daily grab samples of refusals were collected to have a weekly composite sample for each animal, which was further pooled per treatment kept. These gave six refusal samples during the feeding trials. Feed and refusal samples were in plastic bag in between and after collection pending chemical analysis. Body weight of the animals was taken at the beginning of the trial and every 10 days during the 90 days of feeding trial period. All animals were weighed in the morning hours after overnight fasting using suspended weighing scale with a sensitivity of 100 grams. Daily weight gain (ADG) was calculated as the difference between final live weight and initial live weight divided by the number of feeding days. Feed conversion efficiency (FCE) was calculated by ADG divided by daily total DM intake. 3.7. Carcass Analysis At the end of the digestibility trial, all of the experimental animals were fasted overnight, taken to a slaughtering house, weighed and slaughtered. On slaughtering, the animals were killed by severing the jugular vein and the carotid artery with a knife. The blood was drained into bucket and its weight was recorded. The skin was carefully flayed to prevent fat and tissue attachments. The skin was weighed with ears and immediately after the removal of legs below the fetlock joints. The gastro-intestinal tract with the exception of the oesophagus was removed with its contents and weighed. The gastro-intestinal organs were reweighed after emptying its contents. Fat in gastro-intestinal tract and kidney fat was removed and individually weighed. Internal organs, namely, lung, trachea, oesophagus, heart, liver, kidney 20 and pancreas were removed and weighed. The hot carcass weight was estimated after removing weight of the head, thorax, abdominal and pelvic cavity contents as well as legs below the hock and knee joints. After evisceration, the carcass was weighed and cut perpendicular to the back bone between the 12th and 13th ribs to measure the cross-sectional area of the rib-eye muscle area (Purchas, 1978). The rib eye area was traced first on transparency paper then on graph paper and the area was measured by using mechanical polar plani-meter. The empty body weight was calculated as gut content deducted from slaughter weight. Percentage of total edible offal components (TEOC) were taken as the sum of blood, trachea, heart, liver, empty gut, kidney, testis, tongue, and fat (omental, kidney knob and channel fat). Percentage of total non- edible offal component (TNEOC) were taken as the sum of tail, head except tongue, skin, penis, spleen, gall bladder without bile, pancreas, feet and gut content. Dressing percentage was calculated as proportion of hot carcass weight and empty body weight. 3.8. Chemical Analysis Chemical analysis of experimental feeds, refusals and feces were carried out on the representative samples. The samples were mixed and taken to Bahir Dar Seed purity and forage laboratory and partially dried at 60 oC in a forced draft oven for 72 hours, and the dried fecal samples were ground to pass through 1mm sieve and kept in airtight containers at room temperature until chemical analysis The ground samples were taken to Haramaya University, and were analyzed for dry matter (DM), ash and nitrogen (N) following the procedure of AOAC (1990). Crude protein (CP) was determined by multiplying N by a value of 6.25. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) were analyzed according to the procedure of Van Soest et al. (1991). 21 3.9. Data Analysis Data collected during the experiment was subjected to analysis of variance using the General LinearModelProcedure of SAS (SAS, 2001). When treatment effect was significant, treatment means were separated using LSD. The statistical model used for data analysis was: Yijk=  + ai + bj + abij + ck + eijk Where; Yijk = Response variable  = Overall mean ai = effect of feed bj = effect of breed abij = interaction effect of breed and feed ck = effect of block eijk= error residual 22 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1. Chemical Composition of Experimental Diets The chemical composition of experimental feeds is shown in Table 3. As expected, the CP content of the diet increased and that of NDF, ADF and lignin decreased with increasing proportion of the concentrate in the diet. The level of CP in all the three diets in this study was well above the CP content of 7-7.5% required to satisfy ruminal microbial demands for nitrogen that would provide sufficient CP for the maintenance requirement of the animal (Van Soest, 1994). Thus, greater CP content of the three mixed diets in the current study might suggest the possible role these diets may play in achieving fast growth rate of animals aligned with the requirements of animals for fattening. Despite the declining trend of NDF and ADF with increasing level of concentrate in the diets, actual values for the contents of these nutrients appeared to be higher than that can be expected based on the possible contents of NDF and ADF of the dietary ingredients used in this study. The NDF and/or ADF contents of feedstuffs are generally negatively correlated with the nutritive value of feeds. The high content of NDF may imply low intake as it is the major component that limits rumen fill and directly correlated with rumination or chewing time (Cheeke, 1999). Table 3. Composition of experimental feedstuffs consumed by Horro and Washera yearling male lambs Roughage : concentrate ratio1 Item 70:30 60:40 50:50 Dry matter (DM; %) 91.95 91.88 91.67 Organic matter (% DM) 84.64 86.05 86.55 Crude protein (% DM) 13.65 15.49 18.11 Neutral detergent fiber (% DM) 73.86 72.16 71.47 Acid detergent fiber (% DM) 45.53 38.72 26.41 Acid detergent lignin (% DM) 7.48 6.27 4.17 1Diets were formulated to contain the different proportions of roughage to concentrate (hay) to concentrate (30:70 noug seed cakes: wheat bran) 23 4.2. Feed Intake The daily DM and nutrient intakes are shown in Table 4. In all the parameters measured, there was no significant effect (P > 0.05) of genotype and diet by genotype interaction. Conversely, intakes of DM, OM, CP, NDF and ADF were significantly affected by diet (P < 0.05). Intake of DM, OM as well as ADF was lower for the lowest proportion of concentrate in the diet (P < 0.05), but was similar (P > 0.05) among the other two dietary treatments. The CP intake on the other hand increased (P < 0.05) with increasing level of concentrate in the diet. NDF intake was greater for the highest concentrate level than the diet containing the lowest concentrate level with value for the medium concentrate containing diet being similar to the other two dietary treatments. The higher total DM and nutrient intake with increasing concentrate proportion in the diet agreed well with the facts described by Pond et al. (1995) that noted consumption of low quality roughages such as straw and poor hay to be increased markedly by the addition of protein and energy supplements. As has been noted earlier increasing proportion of the concentrate in the diet increased CP level and decreased the fiber content of the diets and as such might have improved the energy and protein supply to the animals that might have improved nutrient balance and digestibility, consequently enhancing ruminal transit rate of feeds which is positively correlated with feed intake (Van Soest, 1994). Milford and Minson (1966) reported that intake of grass species declines rapidly when the CP content of the consumed forage falls below 7%. Drouilard et al. (1991) observed a 70% increase in DM intake when lambs were fed a 14.5 % CP diet compared with 8.9% CP diet. Fiuharty and Mcclure (1997) also noted an increase in DM intake when lambs were fed a higher protein diet (18.9% CP) compared with a diet containing lower CP (14%). Supplementation of low quality feeds with CP increased digestibility and intake (Lambourne et al., 1986). This might be due to the fact that supplementation created a favorable rumen environment resulting in enhanced fermentation of the basal roughage and thus increased microbial protein synthesis (Osuji et al., 1995). As the rate of breakdown and rate of digestion increased, feed intake accordingly increased (Van Soest, 1982). The positive effects of 24 supplementation on feed intake may have been a reflection of the increase in the intake of essential nutrients such as energy, vitamins and minerals and in particular nitrogen. Generally concentrate feeds rich in protein content promotes high microbial population (McDonald, 2002), which may facilitate rumen fermentation and thereby intake. In the current study, intake of DM and nutrients were not affected by genotype and by the interaction of genotype and dietary concentrate levels. This indicates that the two genotypes have a similar performance in terms of feed intake under feeding regimes that vary in dietary composition and contents of nutrients. The total DM intake noted in this study was comparable to the range of values of 666-788 g/day reported for Farata sheep fed hay supplemented with wheat bran, noug seed cake and their mixtures (Fentie and Solomon, 2008). Supplementation with noug seed cake and rice bran (Abebaw and Solomon, 2008), Leucaenea leucocephala and Sesbania sesban (Bonsi et al.,1996) for sheep resulted to DM intakes of 690-720 and 733-761 g/day, respectively and were comparable to the values of the current study. 25 Table 4. Dry matter and nutrient intakes of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Intake Genotype Roughage : concentrate ratio (Diet)1 Genotype Significant level 70:30 60:40 50:50 SEM Horro Washera SEM Diet Genotype Interaction DM Horro 693 812 847 31.6 784 810 18.7 * ns ns Washera 747 812 872 Mean 720b 812a 859a 22.9 OM Horro 584 700 718 26.4 667 685 15.3 * ns ns Washera 636 681 738 Mean 610b 691a 728a 18.7 CP Horro 103 132 158 4.9 131 133 2.8 * ns ns Washera 106 129 162 Mean 105c 130b 160a 3.5 NDF Horro 528 579 592 23.0 567 582 13.3 * ns ns Washera 552 565 629 Mean 540b 572ab 610a 8.8 ADF Horro 331 527 345 15.3 401 414 5.8 * ns ns Washera 345 521 375 Mean 338b 524a 560a 11.8 a-cMeans within diet without a common superscript differ (P < 0.05); DM = dry matter; OM = organic matter; CP = crude protein; NDF = neutral detergent fiber; ADF = acid detergent fiber; SEM = standard error of the mean for diet, or genotype, or diet x genotype interaction; 1Diets were formulated to contain the different proportions of roughage (hay) to concentrate (30:70 noug seed cake :wheat bran) 26 4.3. Nutrient digestibility Apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients of Horro and Washera sheep fed rations containing different proportions of hay and concentrate is presented in Table 5. The apparent digestibility coefficients of DM, OM, CP and NDF were unaffected (P > 0.05) by genotype, diet (proportion of concentrate in the diet) or their interaction. Digestibility coefficient of ADF was significantly affected by genotype (P < 0.05) and the digestibility coefficient was greater for Horro than Washera lambs. But the ADF digestibility coefficient was also not affected by diet and diet genotype interaction (P < 0.05). According to Bonsi et al. (1995) lower CP content of feeds affect microbial growth and fermentation in the rumen and consequently digestibility of DM and nutrients. Banamana et al. (1990) reported that increasing CP in the diet increased the digestibility of OM, ADF, and CP. Mulligan et al. (2001) also reported that increasing dietary CP content increased the digestibility of low quality hay. In the current study, increase in CP intake with increasing level of concentrate in the diet was not followed with similar increase in DM, OM, and CP digestibility. This could be attributable to the relatively good diets used in all treatments in this study. Thus, the three diets might have provided sufficient amount of CP and/or energy for ruminal microbes, as a result ruminal digestion in the current study might have not been hindered due to dietary concentrate level differences. In agreement with the present study, Badamana and Sutton (1992) reported that digestibility of DM and OM was unaffected with CP increment in the diet. Moore and Mott (1972) and Mugerta et al. (1973) showed that a digestibility coefficient of above 65% indicates good nutritive value and that below this level intake is limited by low digestibility. Evidence indicated that the digestibility of OM might be as high as 85% in young pasture grass and as low as 45% in winter herbage (McDoland et al., 2002). The digestibility of OM and CP in the current study is well above 65% for both genotypes (Horro and Washera) indicating that the three diets used in this study were of good feeding value (Moore and Mott, 1972; Mugerta et al., 1973). 27 Table 5. Dry matter and nutrient digestibility coefficients of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Intake Genotype Roughage : concentrate ratio (Diet) 1 Genotype Significant level 70:30 60:40 50:50 SEM Horro Washera SEM Diet Genotype Interaction DM Horro 0.65 0.64 0.67 0.030 0.65 0.63 0.017 ns ns ns Washera 0.61 0.66 0.62 Mean 0.63 0.65 0.65 0.021 OM Horro 0.67 0.67 0.70 0.028 0.68 0.66 0.016 ns ns ns Washera 0.64 0.69 0.64 Mean 0.65 0.68 0.67 0.020 CP Horro 0.78 0.78 0.82 0.021 0.79 0.81 0.012 ns ns ns Washera 0.79 0.81 0.84 Mean 0.78 0.79 0.83 0.015 NDF Horro 0.60 0.56 0.66 0.034 0.61 0.58 0.020 ns ns ns Washera 0.57 0.59 0.58 Mean 0.58 0.57 0.62 0.024 ADF Horro 0.86 0.93 0.69 0.052 0.82a 0.65b 0.099 ns * ns Washera 0.64 0.65 0.67 Mean 0.75 0.79 0.68 0.037 a-bMeans within genotype without a common superscript differ (P < 0.05); DM = dry matter; OM = organic matter; CP = crude protein; NDF = neutral detergent fiber; ADF = acid detergent fiber; SEM = standard error of the mean for diet, or genotype, or diet x genotype interaction; 1Diets were formulated to contain the different proportions of roughage (hay) to concentrate (30:70 noug seed cake: wheat bran) 28 4.4. Body Weight Change and Feed Conversion Efficiency Initial body weight and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) were not significantly affected (P > 0.05) by genotype, the proportion of concentrate (diet) and genotype x diet interaction (Table 6). Final body weight, body weight change and average daily body weight gain (ADG) was not significantly affected (P > 0.05) by genotype and by genotype x diet interaction, but they were significantly affected by diet (P < 0.05). Final body weight was lower for the lowest proportion of concentrate in the diet (P < 0.05), but was similar (P > 0.05) among the other two dietary treatments. Body weight change and ADG were greater (P < 0.05) for the highest concentrate level than the diet containing the lowest concentrate level with value for the medium concentrate containing diet being similar to the other two dietary treatments. Although linear increase in ADG with increasing level of concentrate and/or CP intake was not apparent in this study, greater ADG in the treatment containing the highest level of concentrate in the ration as opposed to the opposite proportion of concentrate was observed in the current study, which is consistent with differences in intake of DM and nutrients noted in this study. Relatively, the similar intake and digestibility of DM and nutrients for the two genotypes was consistently followed by similar growth rate or ADG of the two breeds. Thus, the result of this study highlights the similar potential of Horro and Washera breeds in terms of growth performance. This is in contrast to previous reports on the comparison of the growth performance of Washera sheep with Menz and Horro sheep that showed a better growth performance under improved feeding system for Washera sheep (Chipman, 2003). Sheno Agricultural Research Center (SARC, 2003) report also showed that the potential response of yearling Washera sheep to concentrate supplementation to be higher than that of Menz and Horro breed. Growth performances of animals under different experimental conditions may vary depending on many factors, amongst which the type of dietary ingredients used for the study, the quality of the basal diet, type and amount of the supplement used are the main ones to mention. In the current study based on the proportions of hay to concentrate used to formulate the three experimental diets and assuming no dietary selectivity, DM intake of the concentrate were 29 216, 325, 430 g/day for the low, medium and high concentrate containing diets, respectively. The ADG in the current study with such level of concentrate intakes were comparable to the values of 38.9-55.6 g/day noted by Simachew (2009) for Wasshera sheep fed grass hay and supplemented with maize bran, noug seed meal and their mixtures. On the other hand lower ADG values of 25-34 g/day was noted by Abebe (2008) and greater values of 50-71 g/day was reported by Melese (2008) for Washera sheep fed urea treated rice straw basal diet supplemented with 200-400 g DM/day of noug seed cake, wheat bran and brewery dried grain mixture, and for those fed urea treated finger millet straw supplemented with noug seedcake, wheat bran and their mixtures, respectively. Galal et al. (1979) and Demissie et al. (1987) reported ADG of 72-75 g/day which was higher than the present study for Horro lambs supplemented with 300 g/day concentrates to the basal diet hay. Generally the gain of animals in the present study appeared to be lower as compared to the level of concentrate inclusion in the diet, although similar ADG was noted for Ethiopian highland sheep when 50% of their ratio constitutes concentrate and the other 50% hay (Galal et al., 1979). 4.5. Carcass Characteristics The carcass parameters of the experimental sheep are given in Table 7. Effect of genotype and diet x genotype interaction failed to be significant (P > 0.05) in all the parameters measured. Diet had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on slaughter body weight, empty body weight and hot carcass weight. Slaughter body weight and empty body weight were lower for the lowest proportion of concentrate in the diet (P < 0.05), but was similar (P > 0.05) among the other two dietary treatments. Hot carcass weight was lower (P < 0.05) for the lowest concentrate level than the diet containing the highest concentrate level with value for the medium concentrate containing diet being similar to the other two dietary treatments. On the other hand, effect of diet on dressing percentage both on slaughter and empty body weights as well as rib eye muscle area was not significant ((P > 0.05). 30 Table 6. Body weight change, daily body weight gain and feed conversion efficiency of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Parameter Genotype Roughage : concentrate ratio (Diet)1 Genotype Significant level 70:30 60:40 50:50 SEM Horro Washera SEM Diet Genotype Interaction IBW (kg) Horro 18.2 19.7 19.4 0.57 19.1 19.2 0.33 ns ns ns Washera 18.6 19.2 20.0 Mean 18.4 19.4 19.7 0.41 FBW (kg) Horro 21.2 23.7 24.7 0.86 23.2 23.3 0.52 * ns ns Washera 22.2 23.4 24.4 Mean 21.7b 23.5a 24.5a 0.61 BWC (kg) Horro 3.00 4.00 5.28 0.510 4.09 4.07 0.300 * ns ns Washera 3.62 4.24 4.38 Mean 3.31b 4.12ab 4.83a 0.361 ADG (g/day) Horro 33.3 44.4 58.7 5.67 45.5 45.3 0.328 * ns ns Washera 40.2 47.1 48.7 Mean 36.7b 45.8ab 53.7a 4.01 FCE1 Horro 0.048 0.055 0.069 0.006 .057 0.055 0.0030 ns ns ns Washera 0.053 0.058 0.056 Mean 0.051 0.056 0.062 0.004 a-bMeans within diet without a common superscript differ (P < 0.05); IBW = initial body weight; FBW = final body weight; BWC = body weight change; ADG = average daily gain; DM = dry matter; 1feed conversion efficiency in g ADG /g daily DM intake; SEM = standard error of the mean for diet, or genotype, or diet x genotype interaction; 1Diets were formulated to contain the different proportions of roughage (hay) to concentrate (30:70, noug seed cake :wheat bran) 31 Differences in hot carcass yield among dietary treatments in the current study are consistent with the differences observed for ADG. Generally, better dietary regimes are associated with better growth rate and thus more carcass yield, which is the obvious reason for greater carcass yield in the diet containing the highest level of concentrate as compared to those diets that contained the lowest level of concentrate in this study. Lack of effect of genotype on carcass parameters was consistent with the similar effect noted for intake, digestibility and growth rate, implying that Horro and Washera breeds to be similar in performance under the feeding regimen employed in this study. According to Devendra and Burns(1983) dressing percentage is described as the proportion of carcass weight to body weight and this parameter helps to assess subjectively the meat productivity of animals. Nutrition influence dressing percentage through variation in weight of gut contents, and variation in actual organ weights (Warinington and Kirton, 1990; Payne and Wilson, 1998). High percentage of crude fiber in the diet or roughage feeds with low digestibility contributes to low dressing percentage. Kid fed with low concentrate diet dressed out 38.2% and kids fed with high concentrate dressed out 49.4% (Getahun, 2001), which is in contrast to the results of this study where proportion of concentrate in the diet did not impact dressing percentage. In an experiment conducted in Bangladesh (Mazemder et al., 1998) on grazing local sheep without supplementation or with supplementation of 100, 200 and 300 g concentrate per sheep daily, dressing percent was similar among the treatments, which is in agreement with the results of this study. The dressing percentage values reported in this study was slightly lower than the values noted by Simachew (2009) for Washera sheep weighing 17.4-22.6 kg at slaughter that had a dressing percentage of 31-40% and 46-52% on slaughter and empty body weight basis, respectively. Similarly, Abebe (2008) reported for Washera sheep weighing 18.18-23.17 kg at slaughter a dressing percentage of 42.4-46.8% and 49.8-54.2% on slaughter and empty body weight basis, respectively. 32 Table 7.Main carcass components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Parameter Genotype Roughage : concentrate ratio (Diet)1 Genotype Significant level 70:30 60:40 50:50 SEM Horro Washera SEM Diet Genotype Interaction SBW (kg) Horro 21.2 23.7 24.7 0.87 22.2 23.3 0.51 * ns ns Washera 22.2 23.4 24.4 Mean 21.7b 23.5a 24.5a 0.61 EBW (kg) Horro 17.2 19.7 21.0 0.75 19.3 19.5 0.42 * ns ns Washera 18.3 19.5 20.7 Mean 17.7b 19.6a 20.8a 0.29 HCW (kg) Horro 7.5 8.3 9.0 0.46 8.3 8.2 0.26 * ns ns Washera 7.7 8.2 8.6 Mean 7.6b 8.2ab 8.8a 0.32 DSBW (%) Horro 35.4 35.0 36.2 0.92 35.5 35.0 0.53 ns ns ns Washera 34.8 34.9 35.2 Mean 35.1 35.0 35.7 0.65 DEBW (%) Horro 44.0 42.2 42.8 1.75 43.0 41.8 1.01 ns ns ns Washera 42.3 41.8 41.4 Mean 43.1 42.0 42.1 1.24 REA (cm2) Horro 7.4 8.3 8.9 0.46 8.2 8.1 0.49 ns ns ns Washera 7.7 8.2 8.6 Mean 7.5 8.2 8.6 0.33 a-bMeans within diet without a common superscript differ (P < 0.05); SBW = slaughter body weight; EBW = empty body weight; HCW = hot carcass weight; DSBW = dressing percentage on slaughter body weight basis; DEBW = dressing percentage on empty body weight basis; REA = rib eye area; SEM = standard error of the mean for diet, or genotype, or diet x genotype interaction; 1Diets were formulated to contain the different proportions of roughage (hay) to concentrate (30:70 noug seed cake :wheat bran) 33 Rib- eye muscle area is mostly used as a tool to indicate the proportion of carcass muscling (Wolf et al., 1980). Various studies showed that supplementation had a significant and positive effect on the rib-eye muscle area (Matiwas et al., 2008; Wondesen, 2008), in contrast to the observation in this study where different proportion of concentrate in the diet did not impact rib-eye muscle area significantly. In line with the result of this study, Simret and Solomon (2008) noted that supplementation did not affect rib-eye muscle area in Somali goats fed hay and supplemented with different levels of peanut cake and wheat bran mixture at 3:1 ratio. 4.6. Edible and Non-Edible Offal In Ethiopia carcass offal components are categorized in to edible and non-edible components based on the tradition and culture of the people in different parts of the country. All edible offal components were not affected by diet x genotype interaction (Table 8). Among the edible offal components significant effect of diet and genotype (P < 0.05) was observed for liver and tail weights. Liver weight was greater for Horro, while tail weight was greater for Washera breed. The greater tail weight in Washera breed is obviously due to the fact that this breed is genetically more fat tailed than the Horro breed. Liver weight was lower for the lowest proportion of concentrate in the diet (P < 0.05), but was similar (P > 0.05) among the other two dietary treatments. The increase in liver weight with high concentrate ratio might be related to the storage of reserve carbohydrates such as glycogen when animals are fed with energy dense diets (Lawrence and Fowler, 1998). On the other hand tail weight increased with increasing proportion of concentrate in the diet which might be a result of increased intake of dietary energy. Total edible offal was affected by diet and took a similar trend like that of liver weight. In this study most of the non-edible offal components were not significantly affected (P > 0.05) by diet, genotype as well as by diet x genotype interaction (Table 9). Skin weight was significantly affected by diet (P < 0.05) and was greater for the diet containing the highest level of concentrate, while the other two dietary treatments were similar. The weight of lung with trachea and esophagus (LTE) was affected by the diet x genotype interaction (P < 0.05). 34 The significant interaction effect of weight of LTE appeared to stem from the fact that for Horro sheep there was variation among the three diets the value being greater for the highest level of concentrate containing diet than the other two dietary treatments, whereas for Washera sheep there was no difference among the three dietary treatment means. The weight of total non-edible offal components was not affected by diet, genotype and their interaction. Generally most non-edible offal components are said to be early maturing and the lack of significant effect of diet for most may be expected. 35 Table 8.Edible offal components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Parameter Genotype Roughage : concentrate ratio (Diet)1 Genotype Significant level 70:30 60:40 50:50 SEM Horro Washera SEM Diet Genotype Interaction Blood (g) Horro 840 850 880 60.5 857 871 35.0 ns ns ns Washera 722 980 910 Mean 781 915 895 44.8 Liver (g) Horro 326 389 400 20.8 372a 330b 12.0 * * ns Washera 295 346 348 Mean 311b 367a 374a 14.7 Kidney (g) Horro 54 80 76 8.7 70 66 5.1 ns ns ns Washera 59 58 80 Mean 56 69 78 6.2 Heart (g) Horro 116 122 114 16.5 116 126 9.5 ns ns ns Washera 114 129 137 Mean 115 125 126 11.6 Tongue (g) Horro 97 102 93 9.3 97 85 5.4 ns ns ns Washera 72 90 93 Mean 85 96 93 6.6 Kidney fat (g) Horro 31 51 61 10.5 48 47 6.1 ns ns ns Washera 40 41 58 Mean 36 46 60 7.4 Omental fat (g) Horro 69 89 125 19.9 94 85 11.5 ns ns ns Washera 90 65 99 Mean 80 77 112 14.2 Ret-rum (g) Horro 503 630 524 29.6 552 511 17.5 ns ns ns Washera 537 516 480 Mean 520 573 502 21.4 36 Table 8. Continued Parameter Genotype Roughage : concentrate ratio (Diet)1 Genotype Significant level 70:30 60:40 50:50 SEM Horro Washera SEM Diet Genotype Interaction Oma-abo (g) Horro 204 239 211 21.7 218 219 12.5 ns ns ns Washera 208 238 210 Mean 206 239 211 15.3 SLI (g) Horro 890 1060 1080 112.3 1010 916 64.9 ns ns ns Washera 867 1040 840 Mean 879 1050 960 79.5 Testis (g) Horro 237 249 244 31.7 243 273 18.3 ns ns ns Washera 244 289 287 Mean 240 269 265 22.4 Tail (g) Horro 310 540 736 90.4 529b 1113a 52.5 * * ns Washera 735 1160 1444 Mean 522c 850b 1090a 64.3 TEO (kg) Horro 3677 4401 4545 264.1 4207 4641 152.6 * ns ns Washera 3984 4952 4986 Mean 3831b 4676a 4765a 186.9 a-bMeans within diet and genotype without a common superscript differ (P < 0.05); Ret-rum = reticulo rumen; Oma-abo = omasum abomasums; SLI = small and large intestine; TEO = total edible offal; SEM = standard error of the mean for diet, or genotype, or diet x genotype interaction; 1Diets were formulated to contain the different proportions of roughage (hay) to concentrate (30:70 noug seed cake :wheat bran) 37 Table 9. Non-edible offal components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Parameter Genotype Roughage : concentrate ratio (Diet)1 Genotype Significant level 70:30 60:40 50:50 SEM Horro Washera SEM Diet Genotype Interaction SPP (g) Horro 47 65 52 9.2 55 57 5.3 ns ns ns Washera 55 58 58 Mean 51 62 55 6.5 Skin (g) Horro 2210 2350 2810 152.9 2457 2650 88.4 * ns ns Washera 2439 2620 2890 Mean 2324b 2485b 2850a 108.2 Penis (g) Horro 51 43 56 9.6 50 55 5.6 ns ns ns Washera 51 49 64 Mean 51 46 60 6.6 LTE (g) Horro 292c 350bc 460a 24.0 367 360 13.8 * ns * Washera 320bc 390b 370b Mean 306b 370a 415a 17.0 Gut contents (g) Horro 4620 3941 3725 465.9 4095 3727 269.3 ns ns ns Washera 3651 3858 3671 Mean 4136 3899 3698 329.7 HWT (g) Horro 1016 1090 1080 57.5 1062 1153 33.2 ns ns ns Washera 1120 1280 1060 Mean 1068 1185 1070 40.7 TNEO (g) Horro 8236 8256 8082 555.5 8225 7994 321.1 ns ns ns Washera 7615 4255 8113 Mean 7926 8256 8148 393.1 a-bMeans within diet and diet x genotype interaction without a common superscript differ (P < 0.05); SPP = spleen and pancreas; LTE = lung, trachea and esophagus; HWT = head without tongue; TNEO = total non-edible offal; SEM = standard error of the mean for diet, or genotype, or diet x genotype interaction; 1Diets were formulated to contain the different proportions of roughage (hay) to concentrate (30:70 noug seed cake: wheat bran) 38 5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION This study was conducted using thirty male intact Washera and Horro sheep (15 from each breed) with initial body weight (BW) of 19.01±0.37 kg (mean ± SD) to compare feed intake, digestibility, growth performance and carcass characteristics of Washera and Horro sheep fed diets containing different proportion of roughage to concentrate ratio. The animals of each breed were blocked on the basis of their initial body weights into five blocks of three animals each that were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments or hay (local mixed sward hay) to concentrate (30:70 noug seed cake:wheat bran) ratios. The experimental treatments arrangement was therefore a 2*3 factorial in a completely randomized block design (RCBD). One factor is the breed with two breeds of sheep (Horro and Washera) and the second factor is hay to concentrate ratio containing three levels i.e., 30 (L), 40 (M), 50% (H) concentrates of the dietary mix that was fed ad libitum. The experimental duration consists of a 90 days feeding trial following an acclimatization period of 15 days and a 10 days digestibility trial period (3 days for adaptation to fecal collection bags and 7 days for measurement), and carcass evaluation at the end. The crude protein (CP) contents of the three diets were 13.7, 15.5 and 18.1% for L, M and H, respectively. The neutral detergent and acid detergent fibers as well as acid detergent lignin content of the diet decreased with increase in the level of dietary concentrate. Daily dry matter (DM) and CP intakes was unaffected (P > 0.05) by genotype and diet x genotype interaction. Conversely, intakes of DM (720, 812 and 859 g/day (SEM =22.9) was lower for L (P < 0.05), but was similar (P > 0.05) for M and H dietary treatments. The CP intake (105, 130 and 160 g/day (SEM = 3.5) was in the order of L < M < H (P < 0.05). The apparent digestibility coefficients of DM and CP were unaffected (P > 0.05) by genotype, diet or their interaction and were above 60%. Initial BW and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) were not significantly impacted (P > 0.05) by genotype, diet and their interaction. Final body weight, body weight change and average daily body weight gain (ADG) were significantly impacted only by diet (P < 0.05). Final BW (21.7, 23.5 and 24.5 (SEM = 0.86)) was lower in L (P < 0.05), but was similar (P > 0.05) for 39 M and H dietary treatments. ADG (37, 46, 54 (SEM = 4.0)) was greater (P < 0.05) for H than L with value for M being similar to L and H. Effect of genotype and diet x genotype interaction failed to be significant (P > 0.05) in all the main carcass parameters measured. Diet had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on slaughter body weight, empty body weight and hot carcass weight. Empty body weight was lower for L (P < 0.05), but was similar (P > 0.05) between M and H dietary treatments. 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Effects of harvesting stage on yield and quality of natural pasture in the central high land of Ethiopia. Pp.316-322. in: Proceeding of 3d annual conference of the Ethiopian society of Animal Production (ESAP) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 27-29 April 1995. 50 APPENDIX 51 Appendix Table 1. Summary of ANOVA for dry matter and nutrient intakes of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Intake (g/day) Error DF MSE P-value Diet Genotype Interaction DM 19 4982 0.0013 0.34 0.72 OM 19 3331 0.011 0.42 0.43 CP 19 115 0.001 0.65 0.66 NDF 19 2519 0.02 0.36 0.51 ADF 19 1116 0.001 0.15 0.49 DM = dry matter; OM = organic matter; CP = crude protein; NDF = neutral detergent fiber; ADF = acid detergent fiber; MSE = Error mean square Appendix Table 2. Summary of ANOVA for dry matter and nutrient digestibility coefficients of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Digestibility coefficient Error DF MSE P-value Diet Genotype Interaction DM 20 0.004 0.76 0.36 0.454 OM 20 0.004 0.64 0.33 0.41 CP 20 0.002 0.077 0.299 0.916 NDF 20 0.006 0.367 0.323 0.301 ADF 20 0.013 0.111 0.001 0.051 DM = dry matter; OM = organic matter; CP = crude protein; NDF = neutral detergent fiber; ADF = acid detergent fiber; MSE = Error mean square 52 Appendix Table 3. Summary of ANOVA for Body weight change, daily body weight gain and feed conversation efficiency of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Intake (g/day) Error DF MSE P-value Diet Genotype Interaction IBW (kg) 19 1.57 0.0774 0.7691 0.6028 FBW (kg) 19 3.54 0.0129 0.8614 0.6878 BWC (kg) 19 1.24 0.0281 0.9717 0.3239 ADG (g/day) 19 153.6 0.0281 0.9717 0.3239 FCE1 19 0.0002 0.1567 0.6652 0.2330 IBW = initial body weight; FBW = final body weight; BWC = body weight change; ADG = average daily gain; DM = dry matter; 1feed conversion efficiency in g ADG /g daily DM intake; MSE = Error mean square 53 Appendix Table 4. Summary of ANOVA for main carcass components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Intake (g/day) Error DF MSE P-value Diet Genotype Interaction SBW (kg) 19 3.586 0.014 0.847 0.698 EBW (kg) 19 2.67 0.0022 0.7292 0.6127 HCW (kg) 19 0.996 0.0591 0.8528 0.7879 DSBW (%) 19 4.021 0.6698 0.4434 0.8906 DEBW (%) 19 14.554 0.7929 0.4455 0.9191 REA (cm2) 19 1.017 0.0587 0.8549 0.8192 SBW = slaughter body weight; EBW = empty body weight; HCW = hot carcass weight; DSBW = dressing percentage on slaughter body weight basis; DEBW = dressing percentage on empty body weight basis; REA = rib eye area; MSE = Error mean square 54 Appendix Table 5. Summary of ANOVA for edible offal components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Intake (g/day) Error DF MSE P-value Diet Genotype Interaction Blood (g) 19 17496 0.0914 0.7803 0.1557 Liver (g) 19 2062 0.0145 0.0229 0.8819 Kidney (g) 19 361.8 0.0734 0.5471 0.2295 Heart (g) 19 1293 0.7681 0.5149 0.7605 Tongue (g) 19 417.2 0.4634 0.1278 0.4624 Kidney fat (g) 19 523.9 0.1002 0.8994 0.6504 Omental fat (g) 19 1901 0.166 0.5757 0.4506 Ret-rum (g) 19 4370 0.690 0.1105 0.0793 Oma-abo (g) 19 2246 0.2839 0.9774 0.9931 SLI (g) 19 60176 0.3400 0.3170 0.5349 Testis (g) 19 4787 0.6444 0.2614 0.8362 Tail (g) 19 39443 0.001 0.001 0.3196 TEO (kg) 19 333022 0.0045 0.0593 0.9026 Ret-rum = reticulo rumen; Oma-abo = omasum abomasums; SLI = small and large intestine; TEO = total edible offal; MSE = Error mean square 55 Appendix Table 6. Summary of ANOVA for non-edible offal components of Horro and Washera lambs fed rations containing different roughage to concentrate ratios Intake (g/day) Error DF MSE P-value Diet Genotype Interaction SPP (g) 19 406 0.5247 0.7501 0.6804 Skin (g) 19 111664 0.0086 0.1395 0.8034 Penis (g) 19 439 0.3566 0.5497 0.9187 LTE (g) 19 2754 0.0011 0.7140 0.0233 Gut contents (g) 19 1036533 0.6569 0.3453 0.5627 HWT (g) 19 15766 0.0872 0.0671 0.1981 TNEO (kg) 19 1473468 0.8397 0.6176 0.8376 SPP = spleen and pancreas; LTE = lung, trachea and esophagus; HWT = head without tongue; TNEO = total non-edible offal; MSE = Error mean square