Productive and reproductive performance of sheep fed urea treated corn with cobs [electronic resource].

Includes reference.

Two trials with 27 pregnant Ossimi ewes and 15 from their successive born lambs were carried out to evaluate the effect of feeding urea treated com with cobs (UCC) as 50% (T2) or total replacement (T3) of pelleted concentrate feed mixture (CFM) compared to the conventional diets (CFM) on its production and reproduction performance. Rice straw was offered separately from the concentrate. Evaluation criteria included DM intake and utilization, ruminal fermentation characteristics, milk yield, birth, weaning and marketing weight and feed efficiency. This study was conducted during the summer season (May through September 2003). In the first trial. 27 Ossimi, ewes beginning 45 days before expected day of lambing were assigned to the control. T2 and T3 diets The milk was measured on day 14 post partum and once every week up to the 12th week. The growth experimental periods were 137 day in duration using 15 weaned lambs. The selected lambs were allocated to the same three diets. In digestibility trial, 9 adult rams were allocated to the same three tested diets. In vivo digestibility, nutrients digestibility were different among diets. Feeding values (TDN) was greater for T3 followed by control diet whereas the highest DCP was recorded for T2. Feeding UCC had no effect on ruminalparameters in terms of pH, NH3 and total FVA's across the sampling time except for NH3-N.

Summary in Arabic.

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