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ABSTRACT
In Nigeria, ruminant production is low compared to its demand and this is mainly caused by a shortage of feed in both quality and quantity. Rice straws are agricultural residues which have poor feeding value due to their low crude protein and high crude fibre level but are however readily available and can be used as feed ingredients for ruminants. In this study, rice straw is mixed with palm oil sludge as an energy source feed stuffs. This study was carried out using rice straw with 60% and 75% palm oil sludge levels through a biodegradation period of 8 weeks. Sampling was done at every 2 weeks. The samples were analyzed for dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, nitrogen free extract, crude fibre, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, and hemicellulose contents as well as for some in vitro fermentation parameters. Results showed that biodegradation at 8 weeks improved the dry matter digestibility of rice straw with 75% POS at 8 weeks (78.40%). Biodegradation did not significantly reduce methane volume of rice straw treatments. In conclusion, rice straw with 75% POS at 8 weeks of biodegradation can be successfully used in ruminant feeding.
