The effect of forage legume supplementation on digestibility and body weight gain by sheep fed a basal diet of maize stover

摘要: Growth and digestibility experiments were conducted with Ethiopian highland sheep offered a maize stover basal diet supplemented one of the three legume hays (Desmodium intortum, Macrotyloma axillare Stylosanthes guianensis), hay plus cottonseed cake, cake alone, to investigate feed intake, body weight change. Sheep in M. group recorded higher dry matter nitrogen showed gain weight. When legumes given combination P. intortum similar gains. S. guianensis lost during first phase relatively low bodyweight gains second phase. Legumes fed together as supplement increased most dietary soluble cell-wall constituents compared supplements alone.