Abstract

Background: Pulse chunnis are commonly used agro-industrial by-products that may serve as economical protein supplements in small ruminant feeding systems. However, their comparative effect on growth performance of growing lambs in complete diets is not well established. Aim: To evaluate the effect of incorporating different pulse chunnis in sorghum straw–based complete diets on the growth performance of growing Nellore brown ram lambs. Objectives: 1. To assess the influence of Red gram, Green gram and Bengal gram chunnis on feed intake and nutrient utilization. 2. To evaluate body weight gain, average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion efficiency (FCE). 3 To monitor changes in body condition score (BCS) during the feeding trial. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two growing Nellore brown ram lambs (96.30 ± 2.70 days old; 13.27 ± 0.03 kg body weight) were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments (n = 8 per group) and reared under an intensive system for 120 days at the Sheep Unit, Livestock Research Station, Mamnoor, Warangal. Treatment diets included: • R1 (Control): Complete diet without pulse chunni • R2 (RGCC): Complete diet with 15% red gram chunni • R3 (GGCC): Complete diet with 15% green gram chunni • R4 (BGCC): Complete diet with 15% Bengal gram chunni Growth performance, total feed intake, dry matter intake (DMI), body weight changes, ADG, and BCS were recorded. Data were statistically analyzed to determine treatment effects. Results: Total feed intake and average daily DMI tended to be higher in lambs fed the R2 (red gram chunni) diet. Body weight of lambs differed significantly (P < 0.01) from the 2nd to 8th fortnights, with higher weights in R2, R3 and R4 groups compared to R1. Total weight gain (kg) across treatments was: • R1: 10.65 • R2: 10.98 • R3: 10.76 • R4: 10.66 ADG was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in R2, R3, and R4 diets compared to R1. The highest overall ADG (91.46 ± 0.49 g) was observed in R2, compared with R1 (88.75 ± 0.90 g), R3 (89.69 ± 0.49 g), and R4 (88.85 ± 0.49 g). BCS remained nonsignificant during most of the experiment, except in the 8th fortnight, where R2 and R3 lambs recorded significantly higher (P < 0.01) scores. A linear improvement in BCS was observed in all groups. Conclusion: Inclusion of pulse chunnis in sorghum straw–based complete diets improved growth performance in growing Nellore brown ram lambs. Among the tested chunnis, 15% red gram chunni (R2) yielded the highest body weight gain and ADG, indicating its superior nutritive value and effectiveness as a protein supplement in finishing lamb diets.

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