Abstract

Livestock feeding is a major challenge in Niger. The aim of this study conducted at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) experimental station in Sadoré, Niger, was to assess the effects of adding 1 NaCl to millet stover silage on the dry matter intake, digestibility, and weight performance of Peulh-bred lambs. Four treatments were tested, consisting of millet stover silages of two cultivars (Siaka Millet and Local Sadore) with or without adding NaCl. The biological material included 32 lambs of Peulh breed Niger aged around 15 months with an average weight of 28.64 kg. They were divided into four blocks of homogeneous average weight and for each block, there were eight lambs. Each treatment was randomly assigned to a block. The trial lasted 75 days, including 15 days of adaptation and 60 days of data collection. Weight evaluation of animals was recorded, and bromatological analyses were carried out. Results indicated that there were significant differences between silages, according to NaCl addition and treatment, for some parameters of chemical composition, feed value, and zootechnical parameters of lambs. Depending on the treatment, moderately high significant differences were recorded for ash, organic matter, and crude fiber while low significant differences were recorded for digestibility coefficient and organic matter digestibility. Regarding NaCl addition, highly elevated significant differences were recorded for ash and organic matter. These differences were moderately significant for crude fiber and organic matter digestibility. Low significant differences were recorded for dry matter, nitrogen-free extract, digestibility coefficient, feed value, total weight gain, and average daily gain. It is concluded that the addition of 1 NaCl negatively affects the weight development of lambs although it improves the quality of silage parameters such as dry matter, ash, and digestibility coefficient. © The Author(s) 2024. All Rights Reserved.