Potential of corn tumpi as fiber feed in terms of consumption and digestibility of dry matter and crude fiber in local male sheep

Corn tumpi, a by-product of agricultural processing, serves to have as an alternative crude fiber source in ruminant feed. This study utilized to have twenty male local sheep aged 7-8 months, with an average body weight of 13.78 kg (CV = 9%). The animals were fed to have a diet consisting of elephant grass, corn tumpi, and a concentrate mixture (bread flour, copra meal, rice bran, pollard, and premix), with free access to drinking water. The experiment design was a completely randomized design (CRD) with four treatments with five replication. The treatments were (P0) 20% elephant grass+80% concentrates+0% corn tumpi; (P1) 20% elephant grass+60% concentrates+20% corn tumpi, and (P2) 20% elephant grass+40% concentrates+40% corn tumpi; (P3) 20% elephant grass+20% concentrates+60% corn tumpi. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results indicated that neither dry matter nor crude fiber intake and digestibility in local male sheep were significantly affected (P > 0.05) by the inclusion of corn stover in the diet. Based on the observed in-vivo consumption and digestibility characteristics, corn stover can be incorporated as a feed ingredient contributing up to 60% of the fiber component in the ration.