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| dc.contributor.author | Kibret, Berihun | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-10-07T12:59:37Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-10-07T12:59:37Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-06 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/17418 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The study investigated the availability and feeding value of indigenous browse species in northwestern Ethiopia. The study comprised three activities that included the survey, laboratory analysis and feeding experiments. For the survey study, 245 households were used for data collection from lowland (79), midland (86), and highland (81) agroecologies. To determine the diversity and distribution of indigenous browse species, eight 20 m × 20 m plots were randomly established in each ago-ecological zone and land use (open grazing and area closure) with a minimum distance of 100 m between any two plots. Leaf samples from eight selected indigenous browse species were collected at each agro-ecology for laboratory analysis. For feeding trial, 25 male intact goats with an initial body weight of 19.1 ± 1.6 kg (Mean ± SD) were blocked and randomly assigned to five dietary treatments. The treatments were: a control group (T1) fed 100% concentrate mix (CM), 85% CM + 15% Terminalia brownii (T2), 70% CM + 30% Terminalia brownii (T3), 55% CM + 45% Terminalia brownii (T4) and 40% CM + 60% Terminalia brownii (T5).The natural pasture hay was offered as a basal diet. The survey data was analyzed using SPSS, version 26 and laboratory and feeding trial data were analyzed using SAS version 9.4. The study showed that 44 indigenous browse species were identified in all agroecologies. From the identified species Terminalia brownii, Albezia amara and Cordia Africana in the lowland; Cordia Africana, Ficus vasta, Acacia abyssinica and Ficus thonnigii in the midland and Cordia abyssinica, Ficus thonningii and Vernonia amygdalina in the highland were the most preferentially opted for livestock feed. The midland had the highest species diversity index (2.57) of browse species as compared to lowland (2.35) and highland (2.31) agroecology. Palatability (0.213) and multi functionality (0.23) were the main preference criteria for selecting browse species. The highest CP content was recorded from Vernonia amygdalina (223.4 g/kg DM), Dodonaea viscose (207.7 g/kg DM), and Acacia abyssinica (216.0 g/kg DM) in the highland, midland and lowland agroecology respectively. In lowland area, NDF, ADF and ADL contents were highest for Albezia amara leaves (773.7, 330.5 and 101.4 g/kg DM) and lowest for Acacia brevispica (218.8, 95.9 and 26.4 g/kg DM) respectively. Vernonia amygdalina (40.66 ml/200mg DM), Stereospermum kunthianum (47.61 ml/200mg DM) and Ficus vasta (36.95 ml/200mg DM) had the highest gas volume at 24 hour incubation time in high, mid and lowland, respectively. The estimated OMD, ME and SCFA at 24 hour of incubation were the highest for Vernonia amygdalina (68.48%, 9.01 MJ/kg DM and 0.91mmol/L), Stereospermum kunthianum (68.88%, 9.46 MJ/kg DM and 1.07 ml/L) and Ficus vasta (63.33%, 8.26 MJ/kg DM and 0.82 mml/L) in high, mid and lowland agro ecologies, respectively. At 24 hr of incubation, Albezia amara leaves (0.33 ml/200mg DM), Ficus sycomorus (0.23 ml/200mg DM) and Myrica salicifolia (2.66 ml/200mg DM) had the lowest CH 4 production among the species in the low, mid and highland study areas, respectively. The feeding trial result showed that goats received T5 treatment had higher DM (779.24 g) and CP (181.06 g) intakes than other groups. The average daily gain of goats in T4 (59 g) and T5 (63.4 g) were higher than T1 (36.6 g), T2 (34 g) and T3 (41 g). Goats fed T5 recorded significantly highest lymphocytes count (61%) followed by animals fed T3 (28.17%) while the least lymphocytes count (36.5%) had observed in animal fed T4 treatment. Besides, the highest neutrophil count (56.9%) had obtained in T4. Goats fed T5 recorded the highest hemoglobin (10.74 g/dL) levels. Besides, goats fed T1 diet had the highest cholesterol (1.94 mmol/L) level as compared to other treatments. CH 4 production yield (P> 0.05) was comparable between goats fed the Terminalia brownii leaves and those fed a concentrate mix. Overall, indigenous browse species have a potential as feed supplements to improve feed quality and reduce enteric CH 4 production in ruminant animals. | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject | Animal Nutration | en_US |
| dc.title | Indigenous Browse Fodders in Different Altitude of Northwestern Ethiopia: Availability, Utilization Practices and Nutritional Value for Goats | en_US |
| dc.type | Dissartation | en_US |
