Performance of lambs grazing on the sub-alpine pastures of Kashmir Himalayas

SHAHID HASSAN MIR; H A AHMED; A M GANAI

doi:10.56093/ijans.v88i12.85801

Authors

SHAHID HASSAN MIR PhD Scholar, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India
H A AHMED Head and Assistant Professor, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Animal Sciences and Technology, Shuhama Campus, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir 191 202 India
A M GANAI Assistant Professor, Division of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry

https://doi.org/10.56093/ijans.v88i12.85801

Keywords:

Feed efficiency, Growth performance, Kashmir valley, Lambs, Nutrient digestibility, Sub-alpine pastures

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the feed intake and growth performance of the local Kashmir merino lambs grazing on the sub-alpine pastures of the Kashmir valley in 2 seasons (summer and autumn). Kashmir merino male weaner lambs (50), 25 in each season were selected for the experiment. A 10-day digestion trial in each season was conducted by the indirect indicator method with chromium oxide as external indicator. Apparent digestibility of nutrients was higher in summer than in autumn. Feed and nutrient intakes (DMI, DMI/kg, MEI and CPI) were higher in summer than in autumn. Average daily gain was slightly more in summer (41 g/day) than in autumn (30 g/day) and animals suffered serious liveweight loss in the last two fortnights of autumn. Results indicated that sub-alpine pastures of Kashmir valley did not provide sufficient nutrients to sustain healthy sheep production thus necessitating supplementation.

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Author Biography

H A AHMED, Head and Assistant Professor, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Animal Sciences and Technology, Shuhama Campus, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir 191 202 India

Head and Assistant Professor, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Animal Sciences and Technology, Shuhama Campus, Srinagar,
Jammu and Kashmir 191 202 India

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