Effects of Lablab purpurues and concentrate mixed supplements on reproductive performance and pre-weaning growth of Horro sheep grazing natural pasture in Ethiopia
The goal of this study was to compare the productivity and reproduction of Horro ewes treated with concentrate supplements (T1), and Gebis-17 (T2) and Beresa-55 (T3) Lablab purpurues varieties. Horro ewes (n = 21, 7 ewes per treatment) with a mean premating weight of 26.3 + 2.1 kg (Mean + SD) were e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Veterinary and Animal Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451943X22000527 |
| _version_ | 1827999018094952448 |
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| author | Abuye Tulu Tusa Gemechu Tesfaye Mediksa |
| author_facet | Abuye Tulu Tusa Gemechu Tesfaye Mediksa |
| author_sort | Abuye Tulu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The goal of this study was to compare the productivity and reproduction of Horro ewes treated with concentrate supplements (T1), and Gebis-17 (T2) and Beresa-55 (T3) Lablab purpurues varieties. Horro ewes (n = 21, 7 ewes per treatment) with a mean premating weight of 26.3 + 2.1 kg (Mean + SD) were employed in the study. Ewes with uniform parity were selected from the Bako Agricultural Research Center sheep breeding flock. They were then blocked based on the premating weight into seven groups of three ewes each, and within each group randomly allocated to one of the three dietary treatments assigning seven ewes per treatment. Over an 8-month period, the ewes were supplemented with respective feed regimens, which encompassed 5 months of gestation and 3 months of lamb growth up to weaning. The results showed that supplementation enhanced lamb birth weight (3.01 vs. 3.42 vs. 3.42 kg) and ewe weight gain during pregnancy (76.94 vs. 42.11 vs. 58.05 g/day) for T1, T2, and T3, respectively as well as all reproductive features studied, except for abortion instances that occurred in ewes fed a diet in T2 and T3. The causes of abortion in T2 and T3 cannot be ascertained because the experimental ewes were grazing during the day. Even though the T1 diet improved ewe performance in a similar way to T3 and T2, the use of such supplements is usually limited due to their high cost and inaccessibility to smallholder farmers. This emphasizes the importance of seizing the chance to replace conventional protein supplements with low-cost, on-farm cultivated forage legumes like the one studied in this study. As a result, enhancing Horro ewes' performance with either T2 (Gebisa-17) or T3 (Beresa-55) diets throughout their mating season is a promising strategy for maximizing their genetic potential. Future research should focus on the effect of supplements on lambs' post-weaning growth rate and survival. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:52:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23960c4b235449e3a21a66da68143558 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2451-943X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:52:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary and Animal Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-23960c4b235449e3a21a66da681435582023-03-04T04:23:24ZengElsevierVeterinary and Animal Science2451-943X2023-03-0119100281Effects of Lablab purpurues and concentrate mixed supplements on reproductive performance and pre-weaning growth of Horro sheep grazing natural pasture in EthiopiaAbuye Tulu0Tusa Gemechu1Tesfaye Mediksa2Corresponding author.; Bako Agricultural Research Center, P. O. Box 03, Bako, EthiopiaBako Agricultural Research Center, P. O. Box 03, Bako, EthiopiaBako Agricultural Research Center, P. O. Box 03, Bako, EthiopiaThe goal of this study was to compare the productivity and reproduction of Horro ewes treated with concentrate supplements (T1), and Gebis-17 (T2) and Beresa-55 (T3) Lablab purpurues varieties. Horro ewes (n = 21, 7 ewes per treatment) with a mean premating weight of 26.3 + 2.1 kg (Mean + SD) were employed in the study. Ewes with uniform parity were selected from the Bako Agricultural Research Center sheep breeding flock. They were then blocked based on the premating weight into seven groups of three ewes each, and within each group randomly allocated to one of the three dietary treatments assigning seven ewes per treatment. Over an 8-month period, the ewes were supplemented with respective feed regimens, which encompassed 5 months of gestation and 3 months of lamb growth up to weaning. The results showed that supplementation enhanced lamb birth weight (3.01 vs. 3.42 vs. 3.42 kg) and ewe weight gain during pregnancy (76.94 vs. 42.11 vs. 58.05 g/day) for T1, T2, and T3, respectively as well as all reproductive features studied, except for abortion instances that occurred in ewes fed a diet in T2 and T3. The causes of abortion in T2 and T3 cannot be ascertained because the experimental ewes were grazing during the day. Even though the T1 diet improved ewe performance in a similar way to T3 and T2, the use of such supplements is usually limited due to their high cost and inaccessibility to smallholder farmers. This emphasizes the importance of seizing the chance to replace conventional protein supplements with low-cost, on-farm cultivated forage legumes like the one studied in this study. As a result, enhancing Horro ewes' performance with either T2 (Gebisa-17) or T3 (Beresa-55) diets throughout their mating season is a promising strategy for maximizing their genetic potential. Future research should focus on the effect of supplements on lambs' post-weaning growth rate and survival.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451943X22000527Horro ewesProductive performanceReproductiveSupplementationForage legumes |
| spellingShingle | Abuye Tulu Tusa Gemechu Tesfaye Mediksa Effects of Lablab purpurues and concentrate mixed supplements on reproductive performance and pre-weaning growth of Horro sheep grazing natural pasture in Ethiopia Veterinary and Animal Science Horro ewes Productive performance Reproductive Supplementation Forage legumes |
| title | Effects of Lablab purpurues and concentrate mixed supplements on reproductive performance and pre-weaning growth of Horro sheep grazing natural pasture in Ethiopia |
| title_full | Effects of Lablab purpurues and concentrate mixed supplements on reproductive performance and pre-weaning growth of Horro sheep grazing natural pasture in Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Lablab purpurues and concentrate mixed supplements on reproductive performance and pre-weaning growth of Horro sheep grazing natural pasture in Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Lablab purpurues and concentrate mixed supplements on reproductive performance and pre-weaning growth of Horro sheep grazing natural pasture in Ethiopia |
| title_short | Effects of Lablab purpurues and concentrate mixed supplements on reproductive performance and pre-weaning growth of Horro sheep grazing natural pasture in Ethiopia |
| title_sort | effects of lablab purpurues and concentrate mixed supplements on reproductive performance and pre weaning growth of horro sheep grazing natural pasture in ethiopia |
| topic | Horro ewes Productive performance Reproductive Supplementation Forage legumes |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451943X22000527 |
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