Vol. 7, Issue 4 (2018)

Author(s):
T Parthasarathi, A Sarat Chandra, DBV Ramana and J Raju

Abstract:
A growth cum metabolism study of 90 days duration was conducted to know the effect of Horse gram tannins on nutrient utilization, growth performance in Deccani ram lambs. For the study 12 Deccani ram lambs of uniform body weight (16.5±0.64 kg) were randomly allotted to 2 treatments in a completely randomized design and metabolic studies conducted to determine the digestibility of nutrients. The nutrient digestibilities increased (P<0.05) with horse gram meal inclusion. Higher (P < 0.05) Nitrogen, Ca and P balance was observed with horse gram meal inclusion. The increase in the digestibilities of various nutrients reflected in the growth performance of Deccani ran lambs as reflected by higher live weight (P<0.05), average daily gain (P<0.05). Feed efficiency of the animals improved as the feed conversion ratio (kg feed/kg gain) (P<0.01), cost of feed/kg gain (P<0.01) increased. It may be concluded that inclusion of tanniferous protein source increased nutrient digestibilities which reflected in growth performance, feed efficiency and results in reduced cost of production.