Dietary Incorporation of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) and Hedge lucerne (Desmanthus virgatus) leaves in Pelleted Concentrate Feeds: Impacts on Intake, Growth Performance, Digestibility and Nutritional worth in Camel (Camelus dromedarius) Calves

The present study evaluated the effect of incorporation of Moringa and Hedge lucerne leaves into pelleted concentrate feed on nutrient intake, growth performance, body measurements, digestibility, rumen degradability and practical nutritional worth in camel calves. Three dietary treatments were formulated: a control pelleted concentrate feed without any leaf incorporation (T ₁ ), pelleted concentrate feed containing 10% moringa leaves (T ₂ ), and pelleted concentrate feed containing 10% hedge lucerne leaves (T ₃ ). Results indicated that DMI, CFI, NDFI, ADFI and EEI were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the leaf-incorporated pelleted concentrate diets compared to control. Camel calves fed moringa-based diet exhibited superior average daily gain and improved feed conversion ratio relative to T ₁ treatment group. Body measurements, including heart girth and tail length were significantly enhanced in T ₂ and T ₃ treatment groups. Digestibility of dietary protein and ether extract was significantly (P < 0.01) higher on moringa-based diet. In-vitro rumen degradability and practical nutritional worth indices (DCP, TDN, ME) also improved in the leaf-incorporated feeds; more advantage was observed with moringa leaf-based feed. Overall, incorporation of leaf based pelleted concentrate diet (Moringa and Hedge lucerne) improved nutrient utilization, growth performance and dietary energy value without adverse effects which revealed their properties as sustainable alternative feed resources for livestock feeding system.