Effect of feeding super napier (Pennisetum purpureum) silage with or without supplementation on nutrient digestibility, nutritive value and plane of nutrition in rams

The experiment evaluated the Super Napier silage (SNS) with supplementation of concentrate mixture (CM) varying in protein sources in a metabolism study, which was conducted with total of eighteen rams, randomly divided into three groups of six each and were fed with three dietary treatments i.e. T1-ad libitum feeding of SNS, T2-ad libitum feeding of SNS + supplementation of 150g CM containing groundnut cake, T3-ad libitum feeding of SNS + supplementation of 150g CM containing cottonseed cake. Significant (P<0.01) difference was found among the three groups for digestibility coefficients of DM, OM, CP, EE, CF and NFE. Ramsfed on sole SNS silage had significantly lower DMI, DCP and TDN intake (P<0.01) than those fed on supplemental diets. Feeding SNS with CM varying in protein sources like groundnut cake and cottonseed cake at 150g improved the nutrient digestibility and met energy and protein requirements in rams.