Crude glycerin is an efficient alternative to corn in the diet of feedlot lambs.

Fernada Almeida Merlim,Luís Gabriel Alves Cirne,Thiago Henrique Borghi,Carlos Renato Viegas,Nivea Maria Brancacci Lopes Zeola,Roberta Lima Valença,Fabiana Alves Almeida,Viviane Endo,Américo Garcia Silva Sobrinho

doi:10.5194/aab-64-387-2021

Fernada Almeida Merlim, Luís Gabriel Alves Cirne + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-64-387-2021

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance, and performance of feedlot lambs fed diets containing crude glycerin. A total of 30 Ile de France lambs were confined to individual pens at an average age of 45 : 15.1 initial body weight and 32.2 final body weight. The animals were distributed in a completely randomized design and fed three diets containing fresh sugarcane as forage (50 %) and concentrate (50 %), with or without the inclusion of 100 and 200 vegetable crude glycerin per kilogram dry matter (DM) replacing corn. Dietary glycerin inclusion reduced the intake of ether extract () and total carbohydrates () as well as the apparent digestibility of ether extract (), but it had no effect on the intake and digestibility of the other nutrients nor on lamb performance. The apparent nitrogen balance of lambs on the three diets was positive. Although it does not affect the intake and digestibility of most nutrients, the inclusion of 100 and 200 of crude glycerin in the diet tends to worsen lamb performance, indicating that the ideal level of inclusion should be below 100 of crude glycerin.

Highlights

In view of the increasing worldwide demand for animal protein, including sheep meat, animals need to be produced on a large enough scale to meet the requirements of the consumer market
This study investigates the effects of replacing dietary corn with two concentrations of glycerin on the intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance, and performance of feedlot lambs
The lambs performed well on diets supplemented with crude glycerin when compared with the controls (P > 0.05), with Average daily gain (ADG) of 0.264, 0.233, and 0.221 kg consuming approximately 0.703, 0.642, and 0.613 kg d−1 dry matter (DM) to 0, 100, and 200 g kg−1 DM of crude glycerin, respectively (Table 5)

Summary

Introduction

In view of the increasing worldwide demand for animal protein, including sheep meat, animals need to be produced on a large enough scale to meet the requirements of the consumer market. In the current economic scenario, grains have reached high prices, rendering diets more expensive and increasing the costs of animal production For this reason, by-products of the biodiesel industry, such as vegetable crude glycerin, have been studied for use in place of traditional feed ingredients (Gunn et al, 2010; Lage et al, 2010). The inclusion of crude glycerin in diet formulations provides a gluconeogenic substrate for ruminants, as these animals use the glycerol in dietary glycerin to form glucose (Krehbiel, 2008). In this way, this feedstuff can partially replace starchy feedstuffs in diets, especially cereal grains such as corn. Optimal replacement formulations are yet to be established. Gunn et al (2010) evaluated the effects of up to 450 g kg−1 crude glycerin in dry matter (DM) on lamb fatness and found that the inclusion of 150 g kg−1 glycerin in the diet did not compromise animal performance. Lage et al (2010) observed decreased performance in lambs fed up to 120 g kg−1 crude glycerin in DM. Oliveira Filho et al (2016) studied the inclusion of up to 108 g kg−1 crude glycerin in DM of sugarcane silage and found no changes in intake, digestibility, or nitrogen balance in lambs. Ribeiro et al (2018) evaluated the use of up to 210 g kg−1 crude glycerin in DM in lamb diets and reported that the inclusion of 47 g kg−1 of the ingredient provided the greatest increase in body growth

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