Y. R. SULIMAN, 0. A. MOHAMED, EITIDAL A. EL KHIDIR and SHADIYA A. OMAR.

Kuku Research Station, P.0. Box 89, Industrial Area, Khartoum North, Sudan.

SUMMARY

In two concurrently run experiments involving 40 growing sheep weigh- ing 29 – 30 kg and fed to 40 kg weight, maize Gluten Feed (GF) was evaluat- ed compared with Cotton Seed Meal (CSM). Dry matter intake, growth rate, feed conversion ratio, feed digestion and rumen ammonia-N were measured. Eight complete diets were fomiulated to comprise various ratios of GF : CSM with or without sorghum grain. DM intake was significantly (p < 0.05) in- creased by increasing CSM proportion in the rations in experiment 1, while increasing GF proportion significantly (p < 0.05) reduced DMI, in experi- ment 2. Best performance was obtained when GF : CSM ratio was 1 : 2, and a proportion of grain (15%) was included in the diet. Rumen ammonia-N concentration for the diets fed in experiment 2, was always above 50 mg N/L at all times during 4 h – postfeeding period. In general, growth rate and feed conversion ratio values obtained were comparable to available data for grow- ing Sudan desert sheep.

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