Abstract

Background: Feed resources are the major constraint in livestock production, as conventional feed ingredients compete with human food demands. Agro-industrial by-products such as pulse chunnies serve as promising alternative feed resources. Incorporating these by-products in complete diets based on sorghum straw may help improve nutrient utilization, growth, and cost efficiency in sheep rearing. Aim: To evaluate the effect of inclusion of different pulse chunnies in sorghumstraw-based complete diets on growth performance of Nellore brown ram lambs. Objectives: 1. To assess the feed intake and nutrient utilization in lambs fed diets containing different pulse chunnies. 2. To evaluate the effect of pulse chunni inclusion on growth rate and body weight gain. 3. To determine the economic efficiency of meat production through pulse chunnibased complete diets. 4. To examine any adverse health effects of pulse chunni inclusion in lamb diets. Materials: • Animals: Thirty-two Nellore brown ram lambs (96.30 ± 2.70 days; 13.27 ± 0.03 kg body weight). • Experimental design: Random allocation to four treatment groups (8 lambs each) and reared under an intensive system for 120 days. ○ T1: Control diet (no pulse chunni) ○ T2: 15% Red gram chunni (RGCC) ○ T3: 15% Green gram chunni (GGCC) ○ T4: 15% Bengal gram chunni (BGCC)• Parameters studied: Feed intake, daily dry matter intake (DMI), body weight changes, total weight gain, average daily gain (ADG), and health status. Results: • Total feed intake and daily DMI were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in T2 compared to other groups. • Body weight differed significantly among groups from the 2nd to 8th fortnights, with T2 recording the highest values. • Total body weight gain (kg): T1 – 10.65, T2 – 10.98, T3 – 10.76, T4 – 10.66. • Average daily gain (g/day): T2 (91.46 ± 0.49) was significantly higher than T1 (88.75 ± 0.90), T3 (89.69 ± 0.49), and T4 (88.85 ± 0.49). • No adverse health effects were observed across treatments. Conclusion: Inclusion of red gram chunni at 15% level in sorghum-straw-based complete diet improved feed intake, nutrient availability, and growth rate in Nellore ram lambs, thereby reducing the cost of meat production. Other pulse chunnies also supported normal growth without adverse health effects, but red gram chunni proved to be the most effective option.

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