The high energy level effect from different supplements and similar protein source on intake, digestion, weight gain and income over feed cost of Donggala bulls fed Elephant grass

Abstract

Abstract Supplementation is one way to boost the liveweight gain of Donggala bulls during fattening. The current experiment examined the effect of high amount of energy from different supplements and similar protein source on dry matter intake (DMI), dry matter digestibility (DMD), average daily gain (ADG) and income over feed cost (IOFC) of Donggala bulls. Twenty four Donggala bulls were involved, In a completely randomized block design with four dietary treatments and six replications. The experiment lasted 14 weeks, with adaptation and collection periods lasting 2 and 12 weeks, respectively. The dietary treatment include (a) Elephant grass (EG) ad libitum (EG), (b) EG (1% liveweight (W)/day) + Gliricidia (1,25% W/day) and rice bran (1.25% W/day) (EG+GRB) (c) EG (1% W/day + Gliricidia (1.25 W/day) and corn grain (1.25% W/day) (EG+GCG) and (d) EG (1% W/day + Gliricidia (1.25 W/day) and cassava tubers (1.25% W/day) (EG+GCT). Analyses of variance revealed that supplementing Donggala bulls with high energy and protein led to a significant increase (P<0.05) in total DMI, DMD, ADG, and IOFC. Bulls supplemented with Cassava tuber in combination with gliricidia had the highest total DMI, DMD, ADG, and IOFC, whereas unsupplemented bulls had the lowest value for comparable parameters.