PERBANDINGAN KUALITAS RUMPUT GAJAH SEGAR DAN RUMPUT SILASE SERTA PENGARUHNYA TERHADAP KONSUMSI PAKAN TERNAK SAPI LIMOUSIN

The objective of this study was to determine the feed intake level of livestock fed with fresh elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and silage. The elephant grass was first analyzed for its nutrient content using a proximate analysis. Feed intake was observed based on the leftover feed, which was weighed to determine the amount of feed consumed per animal per hour. This study used an experimental method. The silage was made by mixing elephant grass with 1% molasses and 10% rice bran, then fermented for 14 days. There were three treatments in this study: 100% fresh elephant grass (P0), 100% silage (P1), and 50% silage + 50% fresh elephant grass (P2). The test animals used were Limousin cattle aged 10 months with an average weight of 150 ± 4.38 kg. The proximate analysis showed that the silage had improved quality,

with an increase in crude protein (CP) by 0.34%, crude fat (CF) by 1.01%, and dry matter (DM) by 0.41%, as well as a decrease in crude fiber (CF) by 4.49%. The results showed that the P1 treatment (100% silage) had the highest average feed intake, reaching 602.2 grams/hour, compared to P2 at 532.3 grams/hour and P0 at
514.3 grams/hour.