Abstract 303

Maglad,-MA; Lufti,-AA

Dep. Animal Research, Faculty of Agriculture, Univ, Khartoum, PO Box 32, Khartoum North, Sudan.

World-Review-of-Animal-Production. 1985, 21: 1, 3, 5, 15-17; 10 ref.

Apparent coefficient of digestibility, nitrogen balance and ruminal and blood components of Desert sheep fed on blended diets based on groundnut cake 15, sorghum grains 24, wheat bran 20 and sugarcane molasses 20% with sugarcane bagasse, sorghum stalks or groundnut hulls at 20% were estimated in a replicated 3 X 3 Latin square design trial. Average DM intake was 1.1 ñ 0.1, 1.1 ñ 0.2 and 0.8 ñ 0.2 kg for the 3 treatments, respectively. Digestibilities of DM, organic matter, crude fibre and nigrogen-free extract were highest for treatment 2 and lowest for treatment 3. There was no treatment effect on N balance or on ruminal pH; ruminal ammonia N concentrations were significantly higher for diet 3 compared to diets 1 and 2 before and 3 h after feeding. The total volatile fatty acid and blood glucose concentrations before and 3 h after feeding were significantly higher with diet 2 than with diet 3. The rate of digestion was highest with diet 2 and lowest with diet 3.