Effect of Inclusion Rate of Effective Microbes (Em) OnGrowth Rate of Lambs Fed Low Protein Diet

Background : A great majority of animal feed is roughage based (poor in quality) in crop-livestock mixed farming system of southern Ethiopia. EM is considered as one of the options that may improve poor quality feeds dominant in the area. A study was conducted to determine inclusion rate of effective microbes (EM mixed with wheat bran, EM-bokashi) on growth rate of lambs fed low protein diets at Dubo Mante research sub-station. Method : Twenty four (24) post pubertal male sheep of similar age (about 12 months age) with an average weight of 14.1±1.74 kg were purchased from local market. The lambs were assigned randomly to one of the four treatments (T1=0% EM, T2=1% EM, T3=3% EM, T4=5% EM). Water and rhodes ( Chlorias gayana ) hay were offered ad libtum . Results : EM-bokashi supplemented at 5% resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) higher intake and growth rate in terms of weight gain than those supplemented with 3% EM-bokashi. Likewise, lambs supplemented with 3% EM-bokashi showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher growth rate than those supplemented with 1% while the difference between 1% and the control (0%) is not significant. Similarly, lesser disease occurrence was observed in lambs supplemented with EM-bokashi than untreated animals. Supplementing 5% EM-bokashi added 51.2% and 43.6% additional economic incentives over the control and 1% EM level, respectively. Generally, both weight gain and profitability increased as level of EM supplementation advanced. Conclusion : Additional weight in terms of daily weight gain and profitability considered in this experiment are crucial in the livelihood of small-scale farmers. Hence, 5% EM-bokashi could be recommended as biologically and economically profitable inclusion level for lambs fed on low protein diet under smallholder farmer’s management conditions. Keywords: - Lambs, growth, roughage, strategic supplementation, effective micro-organisms