| Author(s) | S. Basmaeil, M. Al-Saiady, M. A. Abouheif , S. Zahran and Y. A. El-Shaikh |
| Affiliation | Animal Production Department, College of Agriculture, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia |
| Title | Effect of Graded Levels of Crude Protein on Nutrient Digestibility of Rhodesgrass Hay or Dried Salicornia Biomass Diets in Camels |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Agricultural Sciences. Volume 16, No 2. (2004/1424) |
| Abstract | . A digestibility trial was conducted with 12 Majaheem male camels (327 kg) to evaluate the effect of dietary inclusion of two sources of roughages and three levels of crude protein (12, 14.5 and 17%) in the diets on nutrient digestibilities Rhodesgrass hay (Chloris gayana ) and dried Salicornia biomass (Salicornia bigelovii Torr) of this seawater-irrigated halophyte were utilized as roughage so urces and incorporated into the diets at the rate of 25% DM. All camels were fitted with bags to collect feces and equally allotted into six dietary groups. The digestibility trial was arranged as a 3X3 Latin square design within each dietary roughage. Except for OM, NFE and ADF, the results showed that digestion of all nutrients was improved (P<0.01) as the crude protein increased in the diets from 12 to 14.5%; However, increasing the crude protein in the diets to 17% was not associated with further changes. The average digestibility of ADF, NDF and TDN were 75, 22 and 13% higher (P<0.01) for the diets containing Rhodesgrass hay than for those diets containing dried Salicornia biomass, respectively. On the other hand, the average digestibility of CP for the dried Salicornia biomass diets was 3.6% higher (P<0.01) than for the Rhodesgrass hay diets. Keywords: Digestibility in camels, Protein level, Rhodesgrass hay, Salicornia biomass. |
