| Abstrak/Abstract |
In Indonesia, most sheep are reared by farmers on extensive rearing system. This
system creates arising problem that nutrient deficiency and susceptibility to Haemonchus
contortus are more prevalent. This study is a laboratory model – demonstrating the actual
condition – by increasing the feeding frequency to evaluate the effect of nutrient utilization on
sheep infected by H. contortus. The study used the sheep as livestock model, with age ±1 year
and average body weight ±17 kg. 16 thin-tail sheep were randomly grouped into 4. Treatment
on this study were different feeding frequency: A (2 times/day), B (3 times/day), C (4
times/day), and D (5 times/day). All groups were fed with field grass-based feed with no other
feed supplementation. Worm infection process were carried out once a week as many as 200 H.
contortus infective stage per head per infection. The egg number of H. contortus per gram of
fecal egg number was observed and examined weekly for 10 weeks. According to this study,
higher feeding frequency increases the consumption and digestibility of dry matter (DM),
organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), and crude fiber (CF) (P <0.05) and increases the
percentage of fecal egg number (FEN). |
