Performance of Dorper sheep fed on range grass and legume diets in a feedlot system in Taita Taveta and Makueni counties of Kenya

Abstract

A feeding trial was conducted on-farm at Kasigau Ranch in Taita Taveta County and on-station at Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Kiboko in Makueni County, Southern Kenya to determine the performance of Dorper sheep fed on different diets in a feedlot system. The trial animals at KALRO were ewes while those at Kasigau Ranch were rams, all aged between 10 to 12 months and weighing 22.7±2.4 kg. Two grasses i.e. African foxtail (Cenchrus ciliaris) and Bush rye (Enteropogon macrostachyus) and two legumes, that is, Dolichos lablab (Lablab purpureus) and Cowpea M66 (Vigna unguiculata) were used to formulate the diets. The six diets representing the treatments included; Diet 1; C. ciliaris + cowpea, Diet 2; C. ciliaris + Dolichos lablab, Diet 3; E. macrostachyus + cowpea, Diet 4; E macrostachyus + Dolichos Lablab, Diet 5; C. ciliaris and Diet 6; E. macrostachyus. The trial at Kasigau Ranch involved 18 rams while the KALRO Kiboko one involved 24 ewes with 3 and 4 animals assigned to each treatment at Kasigau and Kiboko, respectively, in a completely randomized block design. Nutritive analysis of the diets was performed using wet chemistry for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), acid-detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral-detergent fibre (NDF), crude fiber (CF), Nitrogen free extract (NFE) and acid detergent lignin (ADL). All the trial animals were weighed once a week for growth performance data collection. The data collected was analyzed using Genstat 14th Edition and the means separated using Turkey HSD at 5% significant level. Analysis of the Dry Matter Intake (DMI) and weight gain data showed significant differences (p