Preparation of Wastelage with Poultry Droppings and Oat Forage (Avena sativa) as a Feed for Cattle

Abstract

In this experiment, wastelage was prepared by ensiling Oat forage (Avena sativa) with fresh caged layer excreta (CLE) at varying proportions to investigate the feeding values of wastelage for cattle and protect environment from poultry droppings. Oat forage was mixed with 0, 20, 40 and 60% CLE and 5% molasses in each treatment on dry matter (DM) basis and ensiled in air tight plastic container under room temperature. After 56 days, ensiled mixtures were opened. All the wastelages had desirable aroma, yellowish green color, soft texture and were mould free. The pH, DM, crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), ether extra ct (EE), ash, nitrogen free extract (NFE), in vitro organic matter digestibility and metabolizable energy were significantly influenced by levels of CLE. The percentages of DM, CP and Ash (37.34, 18.95 and 14.45, respectively) were highest in wastelage with 60% CLE (p<0.05) followed by 40 and 20% CLE. The pH, CF and NFE were decreased linearly (p<0.05) from 4.5 to 3.90, 19.91 to 17.81% and 52.34 to 44.71%, respectively as the level of CLE increased from 0 to 60%. In all treatments, the EE content was not significantly influenced by the different level of CLE. The in vitro organic matter digestibility and metabolizable energy also increased significantly (p<0.05) with the increase of CLE and maximum value (65.5% and 9.10 MJ/kg DM, respectively) was obtained in wastelage with 40% CLE, which was statistically identical with 60% CLE. The results suggest that ensiling Oat forage with up to 60% CLE improve the feeding value of wastelage.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jesnr.v6i1.22072

J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 6(1): 233-237 2013