Effect of Replacement for Barley grain with Faidherbia albida pods on Growth and Hematological Performance in Highland Sheep in Arid Areas of Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the potentials of Faidherbia albida pods as replacement for barley grain on growth performance and hematological parameters of male highland sheep. Thirty highland male sheep below one year of age and average weight of 14.82 kg were used for the study. The animals were weighed and randomly allotted to five different treatments with varying level of Faidherbia albida ripened pods replacing barley grain as T1 (0%), T2 (25%), T3 (50%), T4 (75%) and T5 (100%) in a completely randomized design (CRD) with six animals per treatment. The sheep were supplemented with the experimental diet daily after feeding hay, which lasted for 4 months. There were no significant 
(P>0.05) difference in total daily feed intake. Significant (P<0.05) increase in total weight gain and weight gain per day was recorded and the male highland sheep fed T3 ration recorded the significantly (P<0.05) highest weight gain (8.21 kg) and weight gain per day (56.13 gm) followed by T4, T5 and T2. Significant decrease in Feed Conversion Rate (FCR) was recorded and sheep fed T3 ration recorded the significantly (P<0.05) lowest FCR (8.76) followed by T4 (9.42), T2 (10.03) and T5 (10.06). No significant (P<0.05) difference was observed in the hematological parameters recorded during beginning and end of the experiment. Conclusively, F. albida pods can be used to replace barley grain in the feeding of male highland sheep. Hence, it is recommended that cost of production in highland sheep can be greatly reduced by replacing barley in their diets with 50-75% F. albida pods.