Evaluation of dietary energy and protein adequacy for Priangan sheep

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the dietary energy and protein adequacy for Priangan sheep. The evaluation was carried out by comparing the estimated average daily gain (ADG) calculated from dry matter intake (DMI), crude protein intake (CPI), and total digestible nutrient intake (TDNI) with actual observed ADG data from several smallholder farms. A total of 124 Priangan sheep were recorded from four smallholder farms located in Bogor and Bandung, West Java. The data were analyzed using linear regression, Pearson correlation analysis, paired t−test, concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), and root mean square percentage error (RMSPE). The results showed that the intake of DM, CP, and TDN on several farms was still below the estimated requirements. The validation results indicated that the ADG estimation based on crude protein intake explained 25.8% of the total variation, had a moderate correlation (0.508), better agreement (0.346), and a lower RMSPE (78.4%) compared to the dry matter and TDN estimations. However, all equations still showed low CCC values, indicating that the level of agreement between estimated and observed ADG remains inadequate and require further refinement.