author(s)
Subata Mehboob, AM Ganai, MA Bhat, GG Sheikh, Asma Qureshi, Sheikh Shubeena, Sehrish Shafiq and SS Nisa

abstract
To study the effect of feeding of paddy straw based complete feed with or without supplementation of feed additives on performance and nutrient utilization of crossbred sheep, a growth trial of 60 days was conducted on 20 male crossbred lambs of 8-9 months of age, divided in four groups of five lambs in each group with T0 (un-supplemented), T1 (Herb supplemented), T2 (Yeast supplemented) and T3 (Combination of herb and yeast). The lambs were fed a complete feed containing paddy straw 60 parts and concentrate mixture 40 parts on a DM basis supplemented with yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae 2×1010cfu/g) @ 3 g/kg DM and herb (Urtica dioca) @ 3% as per the in vitro studies carried to arrive at optimum level of incorporation of these feed additives to paddy straw based complete feed. The haemato-biochemical estimates were made periodically as ancillary observations to assess the physiological status of health of lambs. The haemato-biochemical parameters of blood, Hb, PCV, Total serum protein, albumin, globulin, BUN, serum creatinine, and serum enzymes (ALP, AST, ALT) were found to be within the normal range. Significant (P<0.01) improvement was observed on Hb, PCV, total serum protein, albumin, globulin, BUN, serum creatinine, among the treatment groups. The rumen fermentation pattern in experimental lambs was studied at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours post feeding. All the rumen parameters viz., pH, TVFA, total nitrogen, NPN and TCA-ppt. N, revealed significant (P<0.01) effect of time of sampling as well as feed additives supplementation alone or in combination. However non-significant difference was observed in terms of NH3-N between different treatments and control.