Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, C.S. Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Mathura281 001, India.
Online published on 5 January, 2012.
Thirty three male and female cross-bred lambs were divided in three equal groups and fed concentrate mixture alongwith 6-8h grazing (A), a cheaper concentrate mixture + usual grazing for 6-8 h (B) and 50 per cent of group A concentrate mixture + grazing from sunrise to sunset (C). Average live weight gains (g/d) in groups A, B and C were 46.7, 32.4 and 32.3 in males and 26.4, 26.7 and 29.4 g in females respectively. The average DM consumption (g/kg body wt.) was 39, 39 and 41 in males in groups A, II and C, respectively. The results indicated that while the female lambs grew significantly faster on moderate concentrate mixture with grazing throughout the day, the male lambs grew faster on moderate grazing with adequate concentrate mixture.
