Effect of different energy levels of diets on the performance, nutrient digestibilities and carcass characteristics of lambs

Abstract

Eighteen male lambs (initial weight 30±1.3 kg and 5-6 months) were used in this experiment to study the effect of energy levels on the performance, nutrient digestibility and carcass traits. Total experimental period was 90 days. The animals were allotted into 3 groups, 6 animals per each. The first group was fed a medium energy (ME) diet (3.20 Mcal/kg diet), while the second group fed on diet contained high energy (HE) level ( 3.50 Mcal/kg diet) and the third group fed on low energy (LE) diet ( 2.90 Mcal/kg diet). All diets contained 14.70% crude protein in dry matter. The average daily feed intake was affected significantly (P