Unconventional Available Feed Resource Utilization for Small Ruminants

In subsistence agriculture of developing countries like Ethiopia, farmers keep small ruminants for sale and household meat consumption. Among many factors, plane of nutrition plays a major role in contributing to the variation in growth performance and carcass composition of sheep production. To increase productivity, coping up feed problem through proper utilization and matching livestock production with the available feed resource is a must. To cope up with the feed scarcity, like other crop residues, maize husk feeding for small ruminants during the dry season is not practiced in Ethiopia. Among major cereal crops produced in Ethiopia, maize is dominant crop both in area coverage and volume of production. There is a potential to produce 1.92 ton per hectare of maize husk from BH-660 maize variety. On station experiment of this study showed urea treatment and supplementation of maize husk has improved sheep growth performance and carcass characteristics. This work would be important for animal nutrition, livestock and crop production professionals and producers.