Reducing Methane (CH4) Emission of Sheep Fed a Diet Supplemeted With Coconut And Palm Oil

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation on the methane (CH4) production and performance of sheep. Twenty sheep with the average body weight of 20 kg were used in this experiment. The sheep were randomly divided into four groups and each group received different ration. There were four treatments tested in this experiment i.e., R0 (basal ration + 3% coconut oil/saturated fatty acids); R1 (basal ration + 2% coconut oil + 1% crude palm oil/unsaturated fatty acids); R2 (basal ration + 1% coconut oil + 2% crude palm oil); R3 (basal ration + 3% crude palm oil). The basal ration consisted of 50% grass + 50% concentrate with nutrient content of 14% crude protein, 5% fat and 70% TDN. Experimental results showed that the supplementation of polyunsaturated fatty acids into the rations tend to reduce methane production in the rumen. The supplementation also increased the body weight gain, and digestibility of the rations, but it decreased feed consumption. It can be concluded that the addition of polyunsaturated fatty acids into the ration could improve the efficiency of energy utilization of sheep, and consequently improve the animal’s performances.