Local agro-industrial by-products offer feasible options to supplement breeding rams in mixed farming systems of Ethiopia.

This study assessed the supplemental effect of flushing Menz breeding rams with local agro-industrial by-products on their reproductive performance and semen quality. In a completely randomized design, rams ( 49) with an initial weight of 25.69+2.

Impact of Dried Thyme Leaf Meal on Production Performance, Egg Quality and Blood Parameters of Laying Hens.

Background: The use of commercially extracted phytogenic compounds to maintain poultry health and productivity in the absence of in-feed antibiotics is prohibitively costly in developing countries.

Objectives: The goal of the study is to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with Thymus schimperi leaf meal (TLM) on production performance, egg quality and haemato-biochemical parameters of Bovan brown layers.

Methods: A total of 96 laying hens at 25 weeks of age were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 6 replications each.

AMMI and GGE Biplot Analyses for Mega-Environment Identification and Selection of Some High-Yielding Oat ( L.) Genotypes for Multiple Environments.

This paper reports an evaluation of eleven oat genotypes in four environments for two consecutive years to identify high-biomass-yielding, stable, and broadly adapted genotypes in selected parts of Ethiopia. Genotypes were planted and evaluated with a randomized complete block design, which was repeated three times. The additive main effect and multiplicative interaction analysis of variances revealed that the environment, genotype, and genotype-environment interaction had a significant ( ≤ 0.

Effect of rosemary () leaf meal supplementation on production performance and egg quality of laying hens.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the supplemental effect of rosemary leaf meal (RLM) on egg production and egg quality in Lohmann-Brown laying hens. For each treatment, six replicates were performed with four 24-week-old laying hens for a total of 96 chickens. Dried rosemary leaf meal (RLM) was present in the commercial laying hen ration at 0, 1.

Effect of Nutritional Flushing Using Long-Term Energy and Protein Supplementation on Growth Performance and Reproductive Parameters of Doyogena Ewes in Ethiopia.

The objective of the study was to establish the effect of appropriate supplementation days (days -21 to +7) using four isonitrogenous (14.7% CP) diets balanced to provide low (Lo-ME) or high (Hi-ME) metabolizable energy on the body condition score (BCS), body weight (BW) change, and reproductive performances of sheep. Thirty-five Doyogena ewes (27.

Effect of processed sweet lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) grain supplementation on growth performance and socioeconomic feasibility of Doyogena sheep in Ethiopia.

Background: The experiment evaluated the effect of supplementing sheep fed natural pasture hay withprocessed sweet lupin grain on growth performance and its economic feasibility. The finding revealed that use of steamed lupin shown to improve the nutritivevalue of the grain and sheep performance.

Methods: The experiment was carried out using 24 yearling lambs with initial body weight of 27.

Optimizing near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy to Predict Nutritional Quality of Chickpea Straw for Livestock Feeding.

Multidimensional improvement programs of chickpea require screening of a large number of genotypes for straw nutritive value. The ability of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to determine the nutritive value of chickpea straw was identified in the current study. A total of 480 samples of chickpea straw representing a nation-wide range of environments and genotypic diversity (40 genotypes) were scanned at a spectral range of 1108 to 2492 nm.

Effect of Barley Variety on Feed Intake, Digestibility, Body Weight Gain and Carcass Characteristics in Fattening Lambs.

Twenty lambs (18 ± 0.22 kg initial weight) were blocked by weight and individually assigned into pens to evaluate the effects of barley straw variety on digestibility, growth performance and carcass characteristics. The following four treatments were tested: (1) a local barley straw (as control), (2) HB1963 (high grain and straw yields), (3) Traveller (high straw yielder), and (4) IBON174/03 (high grain yielder).

Feasibility of heart girth models in estimating live weight of fat-long-tailed sheep.

Fat deposition in the brisket of Ethiopian fat-long-tailed sheep may interfere with the correlation between heart girth (HG) and live weight (LW), bringing into question the accuracy of HG models for LW prediction that are currently in use. This study assessed the accuracy of published HG-based prediction models of the live weight of Ethiopian sheep breeds. Furthermore, the study identified accurate and robust models that predict the LW of the sheep using HG.

Effect of olive tree leaves and twigs on intake, digestibility, growth performance and blood variables of Shami goats.

The effect of replacing wheat straw and a portion of commercial concentrate with olive twigs and leaves treated with urea and molasses on nutrient digestibility, growth performance and blood variables was determined. Forty-two Shami goat kids (20 ± 2.47 kg live weight and 133 ± 5.

Spineless cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) and saltbush (Atriplex halimus L.) as feed supplements for fattening Awassi male lambs: effect on digestibility, water consumption, blood metabolites, and growth performance.

The effect of replacing 13.6% and 20.3% of a total ration of fattening Awassi lambs by two combinations of fresh saltbush (Atriplex halimus) and fresh spineless cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) cladodes at a ratio of 1.

Effects of feeding different varieties of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) straws with concentrate supplement on feed intake, digestibility, body weight gain and carcass characteristics of Arsi-Bale sheep.

Objective: A study was conducted to evaluate the varietal differences among faba bean straws and also to assess the potentials of faba bean straws supplemented with concentrate fed at the rate 70% straws and 30% concentrate mixture on feed intake, digestibility, body weight gain and carcass characteristics of the animals.

Methods: Forty yearling Arsi-Bale sheep with initial body weight of 19.85±0.

Integrating straw yield and quality into multi-dimensional improvement of lentil (Lens culinaris).

Background: Lentil straw is an important source of fodder for livestock in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. However, improvement programmes of lentil do not pay attention to straw traits, neither are straw traits considered in release criteria of new varieties. This study aimed to determine whether straw traits can be integrated into multi-trait improvement of lentil.

Evaluation of desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum) hay as a basal diet for growing local sheep in Ethiopia.

The study was conducted to determine feed intake, digestibility, and body weight (BW) change of Washera sheep fed on desho grass and natural pasture hay as a basal diet and supplemented with concentrate mixtures. Twenty-five intact male sheeps with body weight of 19.4 ± 1.

Effects of betaine and condensed molasses solubles on nitrogen balance and nutrient digestibility in piglets fed diets deficient in methionine and low in compatible osmolytes.

A balance experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of betaine monohydrate (BET) or betaine derived from condensed molasses solubles (CMS) as a substitute for methionine and choline on nitrogen (N) balance and total tract nutrient digestibility in weaned piglets. The experiment included four treatments with 32 barrows with an average initial body weight (BW) of 13.5 kg.