Voluntary intake, apparent digestibility and nitrogen balance in sheep fed with palm kernel cake replacing elephant grass silage

This research was conducted to evaluate the voluntary intake, the apparent digestibility and the nitrogen balance in sheep fed with diets containing palm kernel cake. The addition of palm kernel cake was assessed at the 0; 20; 40; 60 and 80% levels replacing the elephant grass silages by utilizing 20 castrated male sheep in a completely randomized design. In all the forms they were expressed, intake and digestibility of nutrients showed quadract effect at the levels of palm kernel pie utilized in the diet. The inclusion of palm kernel pie in the diets had quadract effect also on the nitrogen balance, due to low consumption of crude protein at higher levels. Palm kernel pie presents the characteristics of bulky feed, and its biggest limitation is the low feeding intake, hence, its use at sheep's feeding must be restricted to up to 37.34% of the total diet.