Abstract
Abstract The efficiency of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis and white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium on growth performance, blood metabolites, carcass characteristics, meat composition and nutrient digestibility of lambs fed crushed whole palm leaf hay was investigated for 105 d. In Experiment 1 (Growth experiment), twenty-four lambs (29.5 ± 1.25 kg) were divided into four feed-based treatments: (1) concentrate and wheat straw ad libitum (control), (2) palm leaf hay (DPL), (3) palm leaf hay supplemented with 2 g of B. subtilis and P. chrysosporium (DPL2) or (4) palm leaf hay supplemented with 4 g of B. subtilis and P. chrysosporium (DPL4). In Experiment 2 (Digestibility experiment), twelve rams, three from each treatment, were used to study nutrient digestibility using the faecal bag technique. Results of the Experiment 1 showed that the DPL4 showed greater (P=0.049) live-weight gain than the control. The diets containing palm leaf hay showed lower (P=0.001) roughage and total feed intake and higher (P=0.001) feed efficiency than the control. Increased serum total protein, globulin, urea-N, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were observed with the DPL4 (P˂0.05). Additionally, diets containing palm leaf hay showed higher ALT levels than the control. The DPL4 increased the hot carcass weight (P=0.006) and dressing percentage (P=0.036), and the diets supplemented with B. subtilis and P. chrysosporium decreased (P˂0.05) the tail fat and all fat levels compared with the DPL treatment. Results of the Experiment 2 showed that nutrient digestibility was lower (P˂0.05) with the DPL and DPL2 than with the control and DPL4. Compared with the control, nutrient digestibility of DPL4 was not affected. It is concluded that replacement of wheat straw with palm leaf hay did not affect the feed utilization or animal performance of the lambs; however, supplementation with B. subtilis and P. chrysosporium at 4 g/lamb daily enhanced the growth performance, and carcass characteristics without any adverse effects on blood metabolites.
Highlights
Semi-arid and arid regions experience low rainfall, resulting in low primary production and forage quality (Ahmed et al, 2015 a; Elghandour et al, 2016 a)
The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis and the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium, as direct-fed microbes (DFMs), in the diet of Farafra lambs fed a diet based on crushed whole palm leaf hay, replacing wheat straw
Growth performance, feed intake and feed efficiency The initial weights of the lambs did not differ between treatments (Table 2)
Summary
Semi-arid and arid regions experience low rainfall, resulting in low primary production and forage quality (Ahmed et al, 2015 a; Elghandour et al, 2016 a) Under these conditions, it seems convenient to use foliage from trees and shrubs as an adequate source of food for small ruminants (Ahmed et al, 2015 b; Salem et al, 2015). Similar to most agricultural by-products, the chemical composition, low nutritive value and low digestibility of palm leaves limits the utilization of these leaves as feed for animals (Abd El Tawab et al, 2016). DFMs have the ability to alter ruminal fermentation and enhance nutrient digestibility, resulting in increased daily gain or milk production and enhanced feed efficiency and animal health (Elghandour et al, 2015; Sallam et al, 2020). We hypothesized that DFMs affect nutrient digestion and feed utilization, resulting in enhanced animal performance. Two experiments were carried out: (1) Growth experiment to determine the effects of experimental diets on the feed intake, performance efficiency, blood metabolites and carcass characteristics of the growing Farafra lambs, and (2) Digestibility experiment to determine the effects of experimental diets on nutrient digestibility of adult Farafra rams
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