author(s)
Chellapandian M

abstract
Soybean hulls collected from soybean processing centres were analysed for chemical composition. The digestibility of nutrients and nutritive value was estimated in adult sheep. Soybean hulls contained 89.55% Dry Matter (DM), 94.80% Organic Matter (OM), 12.32% Crude Protein (CP), 32.54% Crude Fibre (CF), 2.70% Ether Extract (EE), 47.24% Nitrogen Free Extracts (NFE), and 5.20% Total Ash (TA). Fibre fractions of soybean hulls were estimated to be 66.10% Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF), 49.72% Acid Detergent Fibre (ADF) and 2.75% Acid Detergent Lignin (ADL). The major minerals namely Calcium and Phosphorus were 0.64% and 0.20%, respectively. The digestible crude protein (9.01%) and total digestible nutrient (70.58%) contents indicated that soybean hulls were highly digestible in sheep. Soybean hulls could provide adequate nutrients to meet maintenance and growth requirements of adult sheep when fed as a sole feed.