Use of Monsoon Herbage (Amaranthus spp.) in Complete Feed Block for Sheep Feeding

Favourable climatic condition and faster vegetation growth during monsoon season leads to abundance of forage production, which remained mostly unutilized by the grazing herbivores. Chaulai (Amaranthus spp) is one of the local green biomass that grows very fast after first monsoon shower and is not preferably grazed in comparison to other available grazing resources during monsoon. A huge quantity (dry biomass yield of approximately 10-15 Q/ha) of this biomass is therefore gone waste in due course, not being harvested or utilized. This plant is quite rich in protein (CP 10-14%) with succulent leaves and tender stems and has varying palatability in sheep, goat and cattle. Therefore an experiment was conducted to utilize Chaulai herbage in sheep feeding after drying, chaffing and incorporating in complete feed block (CFB).