Feed intake, rumen fermentation, digestibility and live weight gain of male Bali cattle (Bos javanicus) fed different mixtures of Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena leucocephala

Abstract

Leucaena based cattle fattening system has been widely adopted by farmers in Sumbawa island Indonesia. Farmers mostly fatten cattle with leucaena as the sole diet so the number of cattle fattened in the dry season declines with availability of leucaena. Despite its widespread use as living fences, <i>Gliricidia sepium</i>, on the other hand, has not been optimally utilized to feed cattle due to its low palatability. In this experiment, gliricidia was mixed with leucaena at increasing level to improve its intake. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of replacing leucaena in the diet on feed intake and live weight gain of male Bali cattle. Twenty male Bali cattle at approximately 12 months of age and initial live weight of 121±10.9 kg were divided into four groups and fed ad libitum one of the following diets: 100% Leucaena, 85% leucaena and 15% gliricidia, 70% leucaena and 30% gliricidia and 55% leucaena and 45% gliricidia . All diets were supplemented with rice bran 5g/kg LW and minerals x at 3% of the rice bran. There were no differences among diets in DM feed intake: 2.6 – 2.9% of LW, organic matter digestibility 54.3 – 63.6% and live weight gains 0.43 – 0.54 kg/d. Replacing up to 45% leucaena with gliricidia did not reduce feed intake, digestibility and live weight gain of male Bali cattle.