SUBSTITUTION EFFECT OF NOUG SEED CAKE WITH UREA TREATED RICE HUSK ON THE PERFORMANCE OF FATTENING FARTA SHEEP

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