Effect of the mixture of sorghum-sudangrass hybrids and Vicia sativa on digestibility and gases metabolism in lambs

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of sorghum-sudangrass basal diet with common vetch (Vicia sativa) supplementation on the apparent digestibility and greenhouse gas emission in sheep. Twelve crossbred male lambs (6 months old) were randomly assigned to two diets: Diet-1, only sorghum-sudangrass and Diet-2, sorghum-sudangrass with standard vetch supplementation (sorghum-sudangrass ꞉ common vetch = 2 ꞉ 1). There were 15 days for diet adaptation and 9 days for data collection. The dry matter (DM) intake, digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and crude protein (CP) of sheep in Diet-2 were significantly higher than those in Diet-1 (P < 0.05). However, there were no differences in the digestibility of DM and acid detergent fiber (ADF) (P > 0.05). The results suggested that sorghum-sudangrass basal diet with standard vetch supplementation could improve the palatability of sudangrass basal diet and increase the apparent digestibility. Common vetch supplementation has the potential to improve growth performance, but further study is needed. This study provides new information for the application and utilization of common vetch.