Effect of Feeding Awassi Lambs after Weaning with Protected Methionine on Productive Performance and Carcass Traits

Abstract

Protected amino acids especially methionine and lysine are considered one of the most important additives to the feed of high growth or production animals and the response may depend or affected by the balance between the amino acids and energy requirements. Local Awassi lambs (6 to 9 months of age) in the previous studies showed altered responses to the feeding protected protein. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of protected methionine to the feed of lambs after weaning on growth and carcass traits. Ten Awassi lambs were used in this study ages 4 to 5 months and average body weights 22.81±0.48, lambs were divided into two treatments and fed using ad-libitum system at two meals daily on control diet in the first treatment or with addition 5 g/lamb/day of protected methionine in the second treatment. Our result was showed that feeding Awassi lambs with protected methionine directly after weaning decreased feed intake, final body weight, total gain as compared with control, but carcass traits such as hot carcass weight, dressing percentage, rib-eye muscle area and subcutaneous fat thickness were not affected.