Pre-scaling up of urea treated rice straw and supplements on fattening performance of oxen along the Rib-river, South Gondar Ethiopia

The main objective of the study was to create a wider demand and assess the farmer’s perception on ox fattening technique by using locally available rice straw and concentrate supplementation. A total of 55 oxen with similar age and body condition were selected for the study from 44 volunteer participant farmers. Urea treated rice straw used as a basal diet and 3 kg concentrate as a supplement per ox per day were used as the experimental animals. The feeding experiment was done for 105 days including 15 days acclimatization period. The analytical result showed that the average weight of the fattened oxen changed from 313.4 to 407.2 kg. The partial budget analysis result also showed that ox fattening by using the above method of feeding and management was profitable with average net benefit of 1654 ETB. The sensitivity analysis result showed that if the price of output becomes constant and the price of the inputs rise by 20%, the fattening by using the above method has a positive return. Farmers report on the fattening technology during field day is very appreciable and they are willing to continue with the same method of fattening. Based on the result, fattening sector generates an alternative income for small holder farmer’s livelihood diversification.   Key words: Cattle fattening, rice straw, concentrate, pre-scaling up.