Growth performance of Balami rams fed four varieties of Hydroponic Sorghum Fodder (HSF) with supplements in semi-arid environment

Abstract

A study was conducted during the dry season of the year 2020 aimed to determine the growth performance of Balami rams fed with hydroponic sorghum fodder (HSF) from four different varieties of Red chakalari (V1), White chakalari (V2), Kaura (V3) and Jigari (V4) as basal diet with supplements. Each treatment was fed with one variety of HSF plus supplement as V1, V2, V3 and V4. The research was carried out at the Livestock Teaching and Research Farm University of Maiduguri in a completely randomized design (CRD) using four treatments with five replicates. Data collected were daily dry matter (DM) intake, live weight gain (LWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and dry matter intake per percent body weight. The results showed significant (P<0.05) differences in DM intake, LWG and FCR across the treatments. Animals fed V4 had the highest DM intake of 803.65g/animal/day with corresponding highest LWG of 142.86g/animal/day and the lowest FCR of 5.69. In conclusion, animals fed different HSF varieties with supplements showed no adverse effects on growth performance hence, rams in treatment 4 were superior and all the HSF varieties used in this study sustained the growth of Balami rams.