Abstract:
Currently, the global rise in feed material prices necessitates an inquiry
into ways to reduce feed consumption expenses. This could be
accomplished by improving the nutritional value of unconventional feed
ingredients using alternative methods, limiting constituents to safe
levels, and increasing inclusion levels in ration formulation. The
purpose of this study was to treat rice husk with urea in order to use it as
a substitute for noug seed cake and assess its effect on sheep fattening
performance. The study focused on fattening Farta rams with 25 heads
aged 12-16 months, weighing 20.86±2.169 at the beginning of the
experiment. The four experimental groups were fed rice husks treated
with urea molasses at replacement rates of 20%, 35%, 50%, and 65% of
noug cake in the total concentrate feed supply, respectively. However,
the fifth group (control) was given 0.4 kg of formulated commercial
concentrate fattening ration. In this experiment, the crude protein
concentrations of noug seed cake and fermented rice husk were 27.13%
and 12.94%, respectively. It was proposed to make the two replacement
ingredients isoproteinacious. That is, approximately 2.1 times more
fermented rice husk was required to produce the same crude protein as
noug seed cake. The experimental design was RCBD. Urea-fermented
rice husk could effectively replace noug seed cake up to 65% without
compromising weight, and it had a significant economic impact on
fattening ram revenues. All partially replaced feeds outperform the
control in terms of economic benefit. The benefit was due to a large
reduction in total variable cost from replacing commercially
manufactured feeds with locally acquired non-conventional ingredients.
Rice husk was treated with urea in a cost-effective, technically easy, and
ecologically safe manner. It should be implemented in the sheep
fattening industry.
Key words: feed, fermentation, rice husk, ration, farta sheep, weight
gain, profit
