Research Results - (PDF, 101 mb) - USAID

Asystasia was the best, especially under heavy
shade.
e. Formulation and evaluation of molasses
blocks with and without minerals
No salt blocks are available locally,
therefore blocks were manufactured at Sei Putih.
Cement was used as the binding agent. Fourliter
pots were lined with plastic for easy removal
of blocks, and before adding the mixture
a bent wire (12 gauge) was placed in the middle
and extended vertically from the bottom of the
pot to about 15 cm above the pot. Once the
mixture hardened, the wire was used to hang
the blocks from the ceiling of the barn. After
several attempts, the best proportion of cement
in the pure salt block was 8%, a compromise
between hardness and cost (cement should be
wetted first before mixing with the salt). Drying
can be done in the sun, or more rapidly in an
oven. The consumption of salt from these
blocks was 20 g/day per head during the time
the animals spent in the barns (16 hours per
day). The percent of cement had to be increased
to 11% when a commercial mineral mixture (in
powder) was added which made the mixture
69% salt, 11% cement, and 20% mineral mix
(Ultra-mineral mix, Medan, containing 20%
calcium, 25% phosphorous, 22% sodium, 0.35%
manganese, 0.20% zinc, 0.8% iron, 0.2% iodine,
and 0.15% copper). Average animal intake of
this block was nine g/day. An additional
formula that includes a source of phosphorous
is 65%salt, 15% cement, and 20% bone meal. At
Sei Putih, copper has been added to the blocks
at the puesalt rate block of 23 of g of five copper kg (8% sulfate cement). per standard The
pure satboko iek 8 eet.Te
estimated copper intake from this block is 21 mg
per head per day. Modifications of formulas are
required to provide other minerals or ingredients
in various proportions. Salt blocks have
facilitated the task of providing adequate salt
and minerals to the sheep.
f. Free choice molasses supplemented to
grazing ewes
An experiment was conducted with a
flock of Sunatran thin-tail ewes bred to
Javanese thin-tail rams to study the effect of
continuous molasses/urea supplementation on
reproductive performance and lamb weaning
weights. The flock was divided in two groups:
a control group (C), grazing in rubber plantations
only and a supplemented group (M),
supplemented with molasses/urea plus grazing
in a rubber plantation. Molasses, containing 3%
urea, was given ad libitum in the barn. After 21
months, supplemented ewes had given birth to
more lambs than the control group (M, 166; C,
114), had larger litter sizes (M, 1.34; C, 1.24), and
had shorter lambing intervals (M, 216 days; C,
232 days). Lambs from the supplemented ewe
were not significantly heavier at birth (M, 179
kg; C, 1.61 kg) but were heavier (p