Intake by sheep of sugarcane bagasse supplemented with cottonseed meal and sucrose or a protected fat

Abstract

Animal Production in Australia 1998 Vol. 22 INTAKE BY SHEEP OF SUGARCANE BAGASSE SUPPLEMENTED WITH COTTONSEED MEAL AND SUCROSE OR A PROTECTED FAT SUHUBDYAB, B.A. YOUNGA, A.S. CHAUDHRYA and P.J. GOODWIN A B A Department of Animal Production, The University Of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4345 Jurusan Ilmu Nutrisi dan Makanan Ternak, Fakultas Peternakan, Universitas Mataram, Mataram 83125, NTB, Indonesia Previous studies (Suhubdy et al. 1996) have found that feeding cottonseed meal (CSM) to sheep was effective in improving the intake of sugarcane bagasse. Supplementation of diets containing urea with molasses as an energy source can also improve the utilisation of roughages by ruminants (Leibholz and Kellaway 1984). The present experiment evaluated the efficacy of feeding mixtures of CSM plus either sucrose or a protected fat (EnermaxTM, Chevis Morat Pty. Ltd. Toowong, Qld.) on ad libitum intake of alkali-treated bagasse (FibremaxTM, Fibretech Development Ltd., Qld) by sheep. Twelve Merino wethers, 20 to 23 months old age and 30 to 35 kg liveweight (LW), were used according to a completely randomised block design. Four sheep were allocated to each of three groups on the basis of their initial LW and penned individually in an animal house. Each sheep was offered ad libitum alkali-treated bagasse. Each sheep in each group was offered daily 200 g CSM alone (CSM), or with 70 g sucrose (CSM+sucrose) or 30g EnermaxTM (CSM+EnermaxTM ) as a protected fat. The supplements were offered in equal amounts at 0800 and 1600 hours. Drinking water and a mineral block were available at all the times. The sheep performance was monitored by measuring daily dry matter intake (DMI) of alkali-treated bagasse and average daily gain (ADG) of sheep over a period of 35 days after 14 days of adaptation period. Data were statistically analysed by using the General Linear Model procedures (SAS 1990). Table 1. Mean intakes of bagasse (g DM/day) and average daily liveweight gains (ADG, g) of wethers fed supplements of cottonseed meal (CSM, 200 g/day) alone or with sucrose (70 g/day) or protected fat (30 g/day) Treatments CSM DMI ADG 734 55 CSM+sucrose 634 68 CSM+ Enermax 423 -1 TM l.s.d. (P<0.05) 121 43 Addition of sucrose to CSM showed a nonsignificant decrease in DMI of bagasse but a slight increase in the ADG. There was a significant (P<0.05) depression in DMI and ADG when EnermaxTM was added to CSM. The lower DMI of sheep in the CSM+sucrose group was consistent with Faichneys (1965) report that sucrose tended to decrease roughage intake. Dietary fat has an inhibitory effect on fibre digestion in the rumen (Palmquist 1995). The poor response by sheep in the presence of EnermaxTM may be because the fat in EnermaxTM was not fully protected from degradation in the rumen. It is concluded that mixtures of CSM with sucrose or EnermaxTM were not better than CSM alone in improving intake of sugarcane bagasse by sheep. FAICHNEY, G.J. (1965). Aust. J. Agric. Res. 16, 159-67. LEIBHOLZ, J. and KELLAWAY, R.C. (1984). A.M.R.C. Reviews. No. 48, Sydney, NSW, Australia PALMQUIST, D.L. (1995). In FAO Meeting on Integration of Livestock in Oil Palm Plantation. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. SAS INSTITUTE INC. (1990). SAS/STST User s Guide. Version 6, 4th Ed. (Cary, NC: USA). SUHUBDY, B.A. YOUNG, A.S. CHAUDHRY and P.J. GOODWIN (1996). Proc. Nutr. Soc. Aust. 21, 176. 344