Abstract
Aim:Present experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of selenium (Se) supplementation on performance, carcass characteristics, meat composition, shelflife of meat and biochemical profile in Nellore ram lambs.Materials and Methods:24 male Nellore ram lambs (15.75±0.47 kg) were randomly divided into four dietary groups with six lambs in each and reared under uniform management conditions for 120 days. Basal diet was not supplemented with Se and consisted of green fodder (Se 0.09 mg/kg dry matter [DM]), dry roughage (Se 0.11 mg/kg DM) and concentrate mixture (Se 0.019 mg/kg DM) and fed individually. Dietary treatments were prepared by adding graded levels Se (0, 0.45, 0.9, and 1.8 ppm) to concentrate mixture (1% body weight [BW]) from sodium selenite. Feed offered and refusal measured daily; and BWs were measured at fortnight interval to find out average daily gain (g), feed conversion ratio (FCR), cost economics and plane of nutrition. Serum biochemical profile (concentration of glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, cholesterol, and hemoglobin) was assessed on 0, 60th, and 120th day. At the end of experiment, the carcass characteristics (dressing percentage, cut-up parts, meat to bone ratio) and meat chemical composition were evaluated. Meat keeping (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) quality from different groups was evaluated on day 0, 3, and 6 post-slaughter.Results:Dietary Se supplementation did not show any effect on weight gain, FCR, cost economics, plane of nutrition, and serum biochemical profile in Nellore ram lambs. However, Se supplemented lambs had numerically higher weight gain than the unsupplemented lambs. Similarly, carcass characteristics and keeping quality were comparable among the four treatments. However, numerical increase in post-slaughter keeping quality with increasing Se supplementation was observed.Conclusion:It can be concluded that supplementation of Se in the form of sodium selenite (inorganic source) at different levels did not influence animal performance in growing Nellore ram lambs had no effect on lamb performance, cost economics, carcass characteristics, and serum biochemical profile.
Highlights
Sheep and goat provide economic support to the small and marginal farmers and landless laborers in tropical countries which are traditionally managed on grazing lands
Twenty four Nellore ram lambs aged 3 months with a mean body weight (BW) of 15.45±0.47 kg were randomly divided into four groups of six lambs each in a completely randomized design
The Crude protein (CP) and metabolizable energy intake (ME) intakes were similar among the experimental lambs supplemented with different levels of Se
Summary
Sheep and goat provide economic support to the small and marginal farmers and landless laborers in tropical countries which are traditionally managed on grazing lands. In open range, rearing system lambs are prone to walk and environmental stress, in addition to nutritional insufficiency, makes the animal more susceptible to various bacterial, viral and parasitic infections. All these conditions cumulatively affect the lamb immunity which will indirectly affect the lamb performance parameters like growth rate, feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and carcass yield and quality. The ability of sheep to withstand various infectious diseases depends on the integrity of the immune system. Nutrition is the major decisive factor in determining the expression of the genetic potential of lambs in terms of growth and immunity [1]
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