This study involved the integration of sheep into oil palm plantations. The growth rates of 25% Dorset x 75%

Malin (DMalin) and 25% Dorset x 75% Siamese Long Tail (DSLT) sheep raised in 9, 13, 16 and 21 year old

oil palm plantations were evaluated. The measurements were taken by randomly sampling from the flock at

birth, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 months of age. The relationship between body weight and age was determined by Brody's

model. Consequently, the growth models of sheep were 1) BW = 17.9715 (1-0.9113 exp(-0.0049*AGE)) for

DMalin male, 2) BW = 17.7792 (1-0.9230 exp(-0.005*AGE)) for D1V1alin female, 3) BW = 21 (1-0.8778 exp(0.0049*

AGAj) for DSLT male and 4) BW = 18.7301 (1-0.8613 exp(-0.0059*AGE)) for DSLT female. The

average dai(y gain ofDMalin and DSLT sheep from birth to 10 months of age was 41.0 and 54.1 gm/head/

day, respectively. The males were slightly heavier than the females. Daily weight gains of sheep wae related to the

limited grazing period and low quantity of herbage available in old oil palm plantations

Abdullah, Zulkifli

Chaiyawan, Wattanachant

Ismail, Dahlan

Rajion, Mohamed Ali

Universiti Putra Malaysia Institutional Repository

PertanikaJ. Trap. Agric. Sci. 20(2/3): 169-177(1997) ISSN: 0126-6128© Universiti Putra Malaysia PressSheep-Oil Palm Integration: Growth Performance of Dorset x Malin andDorset x Siamese Long Tail SheepC. WATIANACHANT, I. DAHlAN, A. ZULKIFLP and M.A. RAJION2Department of Animal ScienceUniversiti Putra Malaysia43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E., MalaysiaIFar East Holdings Bhdp. 0. Box 35, Kompleks TeruntumJalan Mahkota25000 Kuantan, Pahang D.M., Malaysia2Department of Biomedical ScienceUniversiti Putra Malaysia43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor D.E., MalaysiaKeywords: sheep, growth, production, integration, oil p~ABSTRAKKajian ini melibatkan integrasi bebiri dengan peladangan kelapa sawit. Penilaian kadar pertumbuhan bebirijenis 25 % Dorset x 75 % Malin (DMalin) dan 25 % Dorset x 75 % Siamese Long Tail (DSLT) dipelihara didalam ladang kelapa sawit berumur 9, 13, 16 dan 21 tahun telah dijalankan. Ukuran-ukuran telah diambilsecara rawak dari kumpulan bebiri pada umur lahir 2, 4, 6, 8 dan 10 bulan. Pertalian antara berat badandan umur ditentukan oleh model Brody. Model pertumbuhan bebiri adalah 1) BW = 17.9715 (1-0.9113 exp(0.0049*AGE)) untukDMalinjantan, 2) BW= 17.7792 (1-0.9230exp(-0.005*AGE)) untukDMalin betina,3) BW = 21 (1-0.8778 exp(-0.0049*AGE)) untuk DSLT jantan dan 4) BW = 18.7301 (1-0.8613 exp(-0.0059*AGE)) untuk DSLT betina. Kenaikan berat harian bebiri DMalin dan DSLT dari umur lahir ke 10bulan ialah 41.0 dan 54.1 gram/ekor/hari, berturutan. Bebiri jantan adalah lebih berat sedikit daripada bebiribetina. Kenaikan berat harian bebiri adalah berhubungkait dengan masa ragutan yang kurang dan kualitirumpai yang rendah didalam ladang kelapa sawit tua.ABSTRACTThis study involved the integration of sheep into oil palm plantations. The growth rates of 25 % Dorset x 75 %Malin (DMalin) and 25% Dorset x 75% Siamese Long Tail (DSLT) sheep raised in 9, 13, 16 and 21 year-old oil palm plantations were evaluated. The measurements were taken l7y randomly sampling from the flock atbirth, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 months of age. The relationship between body weight and age was determined l7y Brody'smodel. Consequently, the growth models of sheep were 1) BW = 17.9715 (1-0.9113 exp(-0.0049*AGE)) forDMalin male, 2) BW = 17.7792 (1-0.9230 exp(-0.005*AGE)) for D1V1alin female, 3) BW = 21 (1-0.8778 exp(-0.0049*AGAj) for DSLT male and 4) BW = 18.7301 (1-0.8613 exp(-0.0059*AGE)) for DSLT female. Theaverage dai(y gain of DMalin and DSLT sheep from birth to 10 months of age was 41.0 and 54.1 gm/head/day, respfCtivfly. The males were slightly heavier than the females. Daily weight gains of sheep wae related to thelimited grazing period and low quantity of herbage available in old oil palm plantations.INTRODUCTIONSheep production under oil palm is a viableventure in Malaysia (Chen et al. 1996). Thisproduction system is popular because of itssymbiotic nature. The integrated system has twomain objectives, namely, to convert the unwantedherbage under the oil palm canopy in to a use-ful feed resource (Pillai et al. 1985), and toC. WATIANACHANT, I. DAHlAN, A. ZULKIFLI AND M.A. RAJIONutilize free space for animal production (Chenand Dahlan 1996). The breeds of sheep such asMalin (Malaysia indigenous breed), SiameseLong Tail and its crosses with the Dorset usedfor this integrated system have performed wellin the Malaysian environment and managementsystems (Tajuddin and Chong 1988; Rajion et al.1993). However, information on the productiv-ity of an integrated sheep-oil palm productionsystem is very limited and is mostly related tofertility, mortality and management problems.Recently, the interest of plantation owners to-wards sheep-oil palm integration is decliningbecause of the poor performance of the animalsin the plantation and inadequate informationon the relevant technology in livestock produc-tion (Chen et al. 1996). More information onthis system is needed through proper data col-lection and field experiments.This study was conducted to evaluate thegrowth performance of25% Dorset x 75% Malin(DMalin) and 25% Dorset x 75% Siamese LongTail (DSLT) sheep integrated with oil palm.MATERIALS AND METHODSAnimals and ManagementThe research was conducted at Sungai SerayaPlantation belonging to Far East Holdings Bhdat Keratong, Pahang. The size of the plantationwas 376 ha and the ages of oil palms were 9, 13,16 and 21 years. The plantation raised 1,460head of sheep. Lambs were kept in the shedsand fed with natural herbage ad libitum througha cut and carry system supplemented with com-mercial pellets containing 16.7% crude protein,7.5% ash, 6.9% crude fibre, and 6.5% etherextract at 80 gm/head/day from 3 weeks of ageuntil weaning at four months of age. Mter wean-ing, the lambs were divided into two groupsaccording to sex. They were kept in the sheds ingroups of 35-45 until six months of age whenthey were allowed to graze under oil palms from0900 to 1400 hours without supplementation.The grazing area was rotated every day.Data CollectionMeasurements of body weight related to agewere randomly sampled from 220 DMalin and275 DSLT sheep. The relationship betweenweight and age was determined using the modelof Brody (Brown et al. 1976). The followingmodel was used; body weight (BW) = Avvr * (1 -CON * exp (-MR * AGE)); where A vvr = theasymptotic weight, CON = constant, MR = rate ofmaturity, and AGE = age of sheep (days).Herbage was sampled from experimentalplots measuring 3.5 x 3.5 m under 9-year-old oilpalm canopy and from experimental plots meas-uring 4 x 4 m under 16-21 year-old oil palmcanopy. Herbage was cut about 1.5 inches abovethe ground at monthly intervals. The sampleswere separated into 2 groups to analyse for drymatter yield and chemical composition (AOAC1984).Statistical AnalysisThe relationship between body weight and agewas determined by a non-linear procedure. Sta-tistical analysis was performed according to SAS(1988).RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONNutritive Value of Herbage Yield under Oil PalmThe herbage in the oil palms plantation was amixture of mainly grasses, broad leaves, legumesand ferns (Dahlan et al. 1993; Chen et al. 1996).Table 1 shows the chemical composition of theherbage. The crude protein content of herbageunder oil palm of 7.6-12.7%, and gross energy of16.0-16.3 MJ/kg dry matter were similar to thereport of Dahlan et al. (1993). The average drymatter (DM) yield of herbage under oil palmfrom 9-21 years was 74.8 kg/ha/month. ThisDM yield was higher than that of Dahlan et al.(1993) (76.1 vs. 66.7 kg/ha/month). Neverthe-less, the herbage DM yield (DMHYA) decreasedas the age of the oil palms increased. Thiscorresponded with lower light penetration un-der the oil palm canopy (Dahlan et al. 1993; Chenet aL 1996). The average DM yield of herbage was1.7-3.7 kg/ha/day (0.17-O.37g/m2/day). The DMintake requirement for maintenance and growthby sheep in the tropics is about 74.9 g/head/day/kg WO·75 (Kearl 1982). Thus, the estimatedDM intake per W kgo.75 of sheep aged 2-10months in this present study was 256.3-545.0 g/head/day for DMalin and 359.6-662.7 g/head/day for DSLT, respectively. However, the avail-able herbage in the old oil palm plantationcannot supply sufficient daily DM intake for thesheep.Growth PerformanceTable 2 shows the growth performance of DMalinand DSLT sheep from birth to 10 months ofage. The DMalin grew significantly slower than170 PERTANIKAJ. TROP. ACRIC. SCI. VOL. 20 NO. 2/3,1997SHEEP-OIL PALM INTEGRATION: GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF DORSET SHEEPTABLE 1Chemical composition of herbage under oil palmPalm age % % of DM1/ GP/ ME6/ DMYHA7/(years) DM CP2/ ADF3/ CF4/ Ash (MJ/kg) (MJ/kg) (kg/ha/mo)9 18.9 12.7 44.3 24.9 12.7 16.0 8.9 110.913 19.8 10.7 45.7 26.9 12.5 16.2 8.0 75.416 22.8 9.2 48.4 23.2 10.7 16.1 6.4 62.221 25.0 7.6 46.5 28.4 11.7 16.3 6.0 50.8Mean 21.6 10.1 46.2 25.9 11.9 16.2 7.3 74.81/ DM = dry matter; 2/ CP = crude protein; 3/ ADF = acid detergent fibre; 4/ CF = crude fibre;5/ GE = gross energy; 6/ ME = metabolisable energy; DMYHA = DM yield per ha per monthTABLE 2Growth performance of DMalin and DSLT sheep under oil palmItems Sex DSLT n DMalin n Level of(MeanSD) (MeanSD) SignificanceBirth wt. (kg) M 2.1 ± 0.2a 45 1.7 ± 0.2b 30 0.01F 2.0 ± 0.3a 45 1.6 ± 0.3b 20 0.01MeanSE 2.1 ± 0.1 1.7 ± 0.1Wt. at 60 days (kg) M 8.1 ± 0.5a 20 5.4 ± 0.6b 20 0.01F 8.0 ± O.4a 20 4.9 ± 0.5b 20 0.01MeanSE 8.1 ± 0.1 5.1 ± 0.3Weaning wt (120 days) (kg) M 10.8 ± 1.1a 20 8.9 ± 1.9b 20 0.05F 9.0 ± 0.5 20 8.6 ± 1.1 20 SMeanSE 10.3 ± 0.7 8.8 ± 0.2Wt. at 180 days (kg) M 13.1 ± 0.3a 20 11.9 ± O.4b 20 0.05F 12.7 ± 0.5a 20 11.3 ± O.4b 20 0.05MeanSE 13.1 ± 0.7 11.6 ± 0.4Wt. at 240 days (kg) M 15.4 ± O.4a 20 13.0 ± 0.6b 15 0.01F 14.7 ± 0.6a 20 13.0 ± 0.9b 15 0.05MeanSE 15.0 ± 0.6 13.0 ± 0.0Wt. at 300 days (kg) M 18.9 ± O.4a 10 14.7 ± O.4b 10 0.01F 17.6 ± 0.5a 15 13.5 ± LOb 10 0.01MeanSE 18.3 ± 0.9 14.1 ± 0.8ADG, gm/day- At weaning M 72.5a 57.1b 0.01(birth-4M) F 58.3 60.5 NSMeanSD 65.4 ±10.0 58.8 ± 2.4- Mter birth M 56.2a 43.3b 0.05to 10 M. F 51.9a 39.5b 0.01MeanSD 54.1 ± 3.0 41.4 ± 2.7Means within column with different superscripts differ significantlyDSLT in both sexes (P<O.Ol). The birth weightof the DMalin lamb was lighter than the weightof DSLT (1.7 vs. 2.1 kg, respectively). The wean-ing weight of DMalin was lower than DSLTlambs (8.8 vs. 10.3 kg, respectively). The ADGfrom birth until 10 months of age of the DMalinand the DSLT male was 42.4 and 56.2 gm/day,respectively, while the female was 39.5 and 52.0gm/head/day, respectively. In both breeds, themales tended to grow faster than the females.The performance data of DMalin from thisstudy were similar to those of Devendra (1975),Tajuddin and Chong (1988) and Khusahry andGayah (1991) although the management prac-tices were different. The growth pattern of theDSLT was similar to the report of SchraderPERTANIKAJ. TROP. AGRIC. SCI. VOL. 20 0.2/3, 1997 171C. WAlTANACHANT, 1. DAHlAN, A. ZULKIFLIAND MA RAJIONTABLE 3Comparison of actual weight and estimated weight (kg) of sheep under oil palmAge DSLT, male DSLT, female DMalin, male DMalin, female(days) Actual Estimate Actual Estimate Actual Estimate Actual EstimateBirth 2.1 2.7 2.0 2.7 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.560 8.1 7.5 8.0 7.4 5.4 5.8 4.9 5.6120 10.8 11.1 9.0 10.8 8.9 8.9 8.6 8.8180 13.1 13.8 12.7 13.2 11.9 11.2 11.3 11.1240 15.4 15.8 14.7 14.8 12.9 12.9 13.0 12.8300 18.9 17.3 17.6 16.0 14.5 14.2 13.5 14.1(1994) who observed that the SLT sheep graz-ing under oil palm with no supplements grewabout 52.9 gm/day. However, Ramakrishnam etat. (1992) reported that the growth rate frombirth until 12 months of male SLT sheep monthsgrazing on native grasses and weeds under fruittrees from 0900 to 1700 hours each day was 82.2gm/head/day.Genetically, the Siamese Long Tail sheep isbigger than the Malin. When crossed with theDorset, the DSLT grew faster than the DMalinsheep. The inferior growth performance of theDMalin in this study was similar to that in stud-ies of Wan Mohamad (1977) and Davis et at.(1993). Thus, under the integrated system, theDSLT sheep were 29.8% heavier than the DMalinat 10 months of age.The poor growth performance of bothcrossbreeds was probably due to insufficientfeed from the plantation. During the pre-wean-ing stage (3-16 weeks of age) when supplemen-tation was given, the animals showed fastergrowth rates (58.8 and 65.4 gm/head/day forDMalin and DSLT, respectively). These resultswere similar to those of Batubara et al. (1996)who reported that the ADG of North Sumatrasheep under oil palm was 45.3 gm/head/day.However, the results of the present study con-trasted with the report of Rajion et at. (1994)who showed that Wiltshire x Malin sheepshowed good performance when grazing for 7hours under oil palm due to the availability ofpreferred digestible forage of high nutritivevalue.Table 3 shows the actual weight per age ofsheep compared with the estimated weight fromBrody's model. The relationship between bodyweight and age of sheep in this tudv deter-mined by the model of Brody were 1) DMalinmale, mf = 17.9715 (1-0. 9113 fxP(-().r)()49*AGI~)),2) DMalin female, BW = 17.7792 (1-0.9230 exp(-0.005*AGE)), 3) DSLT male, BW = 21.6869 (1-0.8778 exp (-0.0049*AGE)), and 4) DSLT female,BW = 18.7301 (1-0.8613 exp (-0.0059*AGE)). Theasymptotic weight (A VVI) of all breeds was higherthan the actual weight at 10 months of age. TheA VVT of males was higher than that of femaleswhile DMalin was lower than the DSLT sheep.The study indicated that the maturity rates (MR)of both crossbreeds were low, showing the latematuring of the sheep. MR was 0.0049-0.005 forDMalin and 0.0049-0.0059 for DSLT. The femalesshowed slightly higher MR than the males but notsignificantly different (P>0.05). However, themodels derived from this study are applicable tosheep from birth until 300 days of age.CONCLUSIONThe growth rates of DMalin and DSLT sheep atSungai Seraya plantation were low due to thelack of quality feed and a limited grazing period.The inferiority of genes was also a factor toconsider. In order to improve the growth per-formance, supplementation is needed to pro-vide sufficient nutrients for maintenance andproduction. The results of this study indicatedthat the grazing period should be increased.The model of Brody can be used to estimate thegrowth of sheep. However, the constant valuesin Brody's equations will change according tothe breed type and feed supply.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors wish to thank Mohamad Azri binHamazah Senior l,ranager, and Ahmad Bahri,senior staff at Sungai Seraya Plantation, Far EastHoldings Bhd, for their support, the Depart-ment of Veterinary Ser\'ices, Pahang State fortransportation, and the .'taft' of Ladang Dna,Department of Animal Science. UP\1.172 PERT,\. '1K\j. TROP. AeRTe. SCI. \'OL 20 1 0.2/3,1997SHEEP-OIL PALM I TEGRATIO : GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF DORSET SHEEPREFERENCESAOAC. 1984. Official Methods of Analysis. 14th edn.Washington D.C.: Association of Official Ana-lytical Chemists.BATUBARA, L.P., S. KAROKARO and S. ELIESER. 1996.Sheep integration with oil palm in northSumatra, Indonesia. In Proceedings of the 1stInternational Symposium on the Integration ofLive-stock to Oil Palm Production, ed. YW. Ho, M.K.Vidyadaran and M.D. Sanchez, p. 115-120.Kuala Lumpur: MSAP & FAO.BRoWN,j.E., H.AFITZHUGH,jr. and T.C. 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Sheep-oil palm integration: Growth performance of dorset x malin and dorset x siamese long tail sheep

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Sheep-oil palm integration: Growth performance of dorset x malin and dorset x siamese long tail sheep

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