Effect of Replacement of Conventional Concentrate in a Rice Straw Diet by Moringa Foliage on Lamb Production Performances

Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of replacement of conventional concentrate mixture with Moringa oleifera on growth performance and carcass characteristics in growing lamb.

Study Design: The design of the experiment was a completely randomized design (CRD) with five treatments and each treatment consisted of six lambs of 3 to 6 months old.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Sheep Farm of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI), Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh, between July 2015 and June 2016.

Methodology: Thirty growing lambs aged about 4.5 months (9.73 ± 1.52 kg) were randomly allotted to five treatments with varying moringa (M) and concentrates (C): 100M, 75M:25C, 50M:50C and 75C:25M and 100C. Rice straw was provided at 30 percent of the total ration.

Results: Average daily gain (ADG) and Feed conversion ratio (FCR) were not significantly (P>0.05) different among treatments. Similarly, no significant differences were observed in slaughter weight, warm carcass weights and dressing percentage. The percentages of lean, and lean:fat ratio were significantly higher (P<0.01) for 100M and 75M:25C diet than 50M:50C, 25M:75C and 100M diets. Conversely, carcass fat percentage of warm carcass was significantly (P<0.001) increased with increasing level of concentrate in the diet.

Conclusion: It is recommended that replacing moringa foliage at 75 and100% with conventional concentrate could be used as a cheap protein supplement in rice straw based diets for lamb production.