Effect of concentrate and urea molasses mineral block supplementation on the growth performance of Mecheri lambs

摘要

Decreasing grazing lands and low productivity of animals, coupled with irregular pattern of rainfall are the important factors affecting the profit of sheep rearing. Chronic shortage of feed and fodder and their poor nutritive value could be tackled to some extent by way of supplementation with concentrate feed and any other feed supplements. Use of NPN substances like urea was tried to replace the costly source of proteins in ruminant diet. Urea molasses mineral block (UMMB) is made by combining urea, molasses and minerals in a form that can be used for feeding of animals and it has been used successfully in cattle (Singh et al. 2010). In some countries, UMMB have been tried for small ruminants also (Forsberg et al. 2002). In India studies on supplementation of UMMB for small ruminants UMMB are limited. Hence, the present study was conducted to find out the effect of concentrate and UMMB supplementation on the growth and carcass characteristics of Mecheri lambs for mutton production.