Growth rates and feed conversion rate of Ongole, Limousin-Ongole and Brahman bulls fed elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum)

摘要

Theaimofthisexperimentwastoassessthesuitabilityofdifferentcattlebreedsforexistingsmallholderfatteningsystemsbasedonlocalforagesandcropresidues.inIndonesia.WecomparedthegrowthratesandfeedconversionrateofOngole(Bosindicus),Limousin(Bostaurus)-OngoleandBrahman(Bosindicus)bullsfedelephantgrass(Pennisetumpurpureum),whichisofsimilarqualitytodietscurrentlyfedbysmallholderfarmers.TheexperimentwasconductedattheBeefCattleResearchInstitute,Grati,EastJava.Tenbulls(171±4kgliveweight,1.2±0.7yearsold)ofeachbreedwerefedelephantgrassadlibitumfor16weeks.Nutritivevalueofelephantgrasswas7.4crudeprotein,69neutraldetergentfibre,and62organicmatterdigestibility.Limousin-Ongolebullshadthehighestliveweightgain(0.26kg/day)andbestfeedconversionrate(16kgDMfeedintake/kgliveweightgain).TheBrahmanbullshadthelowestliveweightgain(0.11kg/d)andhighestconversionrate(34kgDMfeedintake/kgliveweightgain).Differencesintheage,liveweightandconditionofthebullsatthestartoftheexperimenthadabiggerimpactonliveweightgainandfeedconversionratethanbreed.However,thesedifferencesreflecttherealityofIndonesiansmallholderfatteningsystems.