Effect of concentrate supplementation and deworming on beef performance ofindigenous Ethiopian zebu cattle fed on teff straw (Eragrostis tef)

The effect of concentrate supplementation and dew orming on beef productivi ty was studied on indigenous zebu cattle fed ad libitum on teff straw (Erag rostis tef). Eighty animals were randomly divided into four groups of each twenty animals. Group land 2 were supplemented with concentrate mixture whi le group 3 and 4 were not supplemented. Group 1 and 3 were dewormed using a lbendazole(10mg/kg) on day zero. The average daily weight gain recorded ove r the ninety days of fattening trial were 0.71 kg for group 1, 0.35 kg for group 2 and 0.31 kg for group 3 and a loss of 0.2 kg for group 4. The diffe rences in weight gain were found to be statistically significant among the different feeding and treatment regimes (p <0.05). A decrease in hematocrit e values were noted in group 2 and 4 that has not received anthelmintic dru g. Animals fed on concentrate supplement (group 1 and 2) had a higher dress ing percentage (41.9%) than animals fed on teff straw only, 38.9%, which de picts the effect of the type of nutrition on dressing percentage. Dewormed animals have substantially reduced their faecal egg count (EPG) irrespectiv e of whether they are supplemented with concentrate or not.