Evaluation of poultry manure as a nitrogen supplement to diets of oats and roughage for sheep

Abstract

Four diets based on wheaten straw and oats, and three diets based on lucerne hay and oats, were fed ad lib. to individually-penned sheep. Some of the diets were supplemented with dried poultry manure (DPM) or sunflower seed meal (SFM). On the wheaten straw and oats diets, growth rate was 145 g/head day-1 with no supplement and 179 and 225 g/head day-1 when DPM and SFM, respectively, were included in the diet at a rate of about 17%. When DPM was included at 32%, intake and growth rate were reduced. On the lucerne hay and oats diets, there was no difference in sheep production with no supplement, or with DPM or SFM at a rate of about 17% of the diet. Sheep on SFM-supplemented diets produced up to 2.4 g/head day-1 more wool than those on DPM diets. The DPM was considered to be a useful nitrogen supplement for roughages such as wheaten straw, which are low in crude protein.