The Potential of Three Vetch Species in Enhancing Feed Intake and Body Weight Gain of Growing Male Lambs

An experiment was intended to evaluate the potential of three vetch species in enhancing feed intake and body weight gain of growing male lambs and to investigate the difference among these three vetch species regarding their effect of supplementation on feed utilization and growth performance of growing male lambs. Twenty-four young male Arsi-Bale lambs of similar body weight were assigned to one of the four treatments in a randomized complete block design. The dietary treatments were 350 g of hay each of <i>Vicia sativa,</i> <i>Vicia Villosa,</i> and <i>Vicia narbonensis</i> for T2, T3, and T4, and ad libitum fodder oat hay alone (T1). Weight measurements of the lambs were made every ten days during the ninety-day feeding trial. Compared to T1 and T3, T2's total dry matter intake (1121.4 g/day) was substantially (P<0.05) greater. Lambs fed T2 diets showed significantly higher (P<0.001) crude protein intake (153.3 g/day) and average daily body weight increase (152.0 g/day). In conclusion, supplementation with Vicia sativa (T2) resulted in the highest feed intake and growth performance of lambs across all treatments. As a result, efforts should be undertaken to introduce and expand the production of this forage within the farming system.