EFFECT OF FEEDING SESBAN AND ITS MIXTURES WITH SOME SUMMER FORAGE CROPS ON PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF OSSIMI SHEEP

This study was carried out to evaluate four different rations formulated as dry matter basis. The first ration (R1, control) consisted of 50% concentrate feed mixture and 50% rice straw. In the second ration (R2), the rice straw percentage (50%) was replaced by Sesbania sesban (SESB). In the third (R3) and fourth (R4) rations, half of the rice straw percentage (25%) was replaced by SESB, and the other half (25%) was replaced by Echinochloa crusgalli (ECH) or Sudanese-grass (SUD), respectively. After weaning, forty Ossimi male lambs (10 per each) three months old of similar birth type and averaged body weight of 20.17±0.43 kg were selected to study the effect of feeding the same transaction on the productive performance of growing male lambs. All lambs were weighed biweekly and kept under the same environmental conditions in a semi-open shaded yard during the experimental period. Results showed that the chemical composition of SESB contains higher levels of crude protein (CP), ether extract, and lower crude fiber content than ECH and SUD. CP content in SESB is almost six times as much as its content in RS and nearly double in ECH and SUD. Similarly, the CP content of experimental rations that involved sesban (R2, R3, and R4) was higher than R1. the nutritional values and nutrient digestibilities of animals fed experimental rations were significantly lower (P < 0.001) than rams fed the SESB pure (R2), SESB-ECH mixture (R3) and SESB-SUD mixture (R4) diets. Treated groups (R2, R3 & R4) exhibited better total digestible nutrients (TDN), and digestible crude protein (DCP), and digestible energy (DE) values than the control group. All ruminal parameters were improved in treated groups compared to the control. intakes of total dry matter (DM), TDN, and DCP, kg/head/day for R1 were lower (P < 0.05 & 0.001) than for R2, R3, and R4. The differences between SESB-ECH and SESB-SUD mixtures were not significant (P > 0.05). Animals that fed on green forages (R2, R3, & R4) had the greatest (P < 0.001) total body gain (TBG) and average daily gain (ADG) values . Total body gain and ADG in lambs fed the mixture forage diets (R3 & R4) were better than that fed the control diet (R1). There was no significant (P > 0.05) increase in growth rate among R3, R4 vs. R1, while R2 showed a significant increase compared to the other groups (percentage change= 29.71, 4.27, & 9.36 in R2, R3 & R4, respectively). Economic efficiency was noticeably higher (1.18, 1.01, & 1.06 vs. 0.82%) in treated groups (R2, R3, & R4 vs. R1, respectively) than the control. All blood serum metabolites were improved in treated groups compared to the control. Thyroid hormones concentrations increased significantly (P < 0.001) in blood serum by feeding SESB-supplemented rations for ram-lambs. It could be concluded that the SESB with or without ECH mixture or SUD mixture could be utilized for feeding the growing lambs without any adverse effect