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Most tropical roughage feeds are generally deficient in nitrogen, energy or some minerals and vitamins. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of adding Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) leaves and molasses to Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) silage. Silage were prepared from Napier grass and mixed with Gliricidia and molasses. There were four treatments involved which were NG, containing Napier grass only which was the experiment control, GS containing Napier grass mixed with 5% Gliricidia leaves, ML containing the Napier grass mixed with 5% molasses, and MG containing Napier grass mixed with 5% molasses and 5% Gliricidia leaves. The treatments were analyzed for aerobic stability, dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and digestibility. There were no significant differences in aerobic stability of silage between treatments, and the treatments with Gliricidia were higher in crude protein (p

This experiment was conducted to determine the nutritive value, palatability and selectivity of 10 legume herbages by rabbits. Chemical analyses and legume intake by rabbits were evaluated for the suitability to fully or partially replace commercial rabbit diet. Ten species of legumes: Desmodium triflorum, Clitoria ternatea, Stylosanthes guianensis, Calopogonium mucunoides, Albizia falcate, Albizia saman, Centrosema pubescens, Leucaena leucocephala, Indigofera zollingeriana and Arachis pintoi were analysed for nutrient content. The legumes were analysed for proximate analysis which included dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), ether extract (EE) and ash (OM). Two methods of feed preference testing were carried out to evaluate the acceptability and preference of the 10 legume species by the rabbits. Five New Zealand White female adult rabbits aged more than 1 year old were allocated to individual cages. The first trial was a single bowl test in which one legume species was offered to each rabbit daily and evaluated for acceptability. The second trial was a double bowl test in which two species of legumes were presented to each rabbit at the same time and evaluated for preference. The testing period for each method lasted for 9 to 10 d, preceded by one week of adaptation. The proximate analysis results showed that all legume herbages had high nutrient, such as CP content. Indigofera zollingeriana had the highest CP content and Calopogonium mucunoids had the highest CF content compared to other legumes and commercial pellet feed. Meanwhile from the feed preference trials, Arachis pintoi, Indigofera zollingeriana and Centrosema pubescens were the most preferred legumes while Albizia saman was the least preferred by the rabbits. It can be concluded that not all legumes are suitable to fully replace commercial diet in rabbits, thus suggesting that legumes can be combined with other forages, and both forages and commercial feed can be included in diets for a successful rabbit production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nutritive and tannin content of tree forages (Kleinhovia hospita, Leucaena leucocephala, and Gliricidia sepium and their effects on in vitro rumen fermentation, digestibility and gas production were examined. Rumen fluid was obtained from three fistulated Boer goats with an average weight range of 31-32 kg fed forages. The fluid was incubated with 0.2 g of each forage at 39 °C for 48 h to determine the in vitro gas production, DM digestibility, metabolizable energy and volatile fatty acid. The proximate composition and the polyphenol composition of the forage were also evaluated. The experimental design was a completely randomized design and the treatments were K. hospita, L. leucocephala and G. sepium. The chemical composition, percentage of total polyphenol, non-tannin polyphenol, condensed tannin and hydrolysable tannin differed (P<0.05) among the forages. The K. hospita had higher (P<0.05) net gas production and in vitro dry matter digestibility compared with other forages. Similarly, K. hospita had higher (P<0.05) concentration of total volatile fatty acid and propionic acid followed by L. leucocephala and G. sepium. The molar proportion of acetic and butyric acid did not differ among the forages. The outcome of this study present K. hospita as a good potential forage to be used in ruminant diet as a result of better nutrient composition, moderate anti-nutritive value and best ivDMD in comparison with L. leucocephala and G. sepium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]