IMPACT OF USING DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DRIED POMEGRANATE BY- PROUDUCTSAS FEED ADDITIVES ON PERFORMANCE OF GROWING BARKI LAMBS

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the impact of adding different levels of dried Pomegranate by-products (DPB):10g/head /day (R2), 20g/head /day (R3), 30g/head /day (R4),versus an supplemented ration (R1) control ration which consists of 70% concentrate and 30% alfalfa hay without any additives) on growth performance, blood parameters , feed efficiency and economical efficiency of twenty growing Barki lambs (averaged 5-6months old and weighed on average 28kg ) in the growth trial(120 days ) . Twelve adult rams (weighed 42 kg) were used in digestion trials to estimate nutritive values, digestion coefficient, some rumen parameters. The Results could be summarized as follows: Pomegranate by-products contained numerous active metabolites such linalool, myrcene, menthol and thymol. The DPP contained 380, 149, 71, 172 and 65 mg/100 g of Ca, P, Na, K, and Mg, respectively. Also, it contained Se, Fe, and Zn respectively. Moreover, it contained vitamin C; vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin B 1 and vitamin B2. Adding different levels of dried Pomegranate by-products (DPB):10g/head /day ( R2), 20g/head /day ( R3), 30g/head /day ( R4), improved all nutrients digestibility (DM, OM, CP, CF, EE and NFE) and nutritive values as TDN, DCP compared with control ration. The highest significant (P<0.05) values were found with lambs fed ration containing 20 g/ head/day of DPB (R3) followed by 10 g/ head/day of DPB (R2) compared to the control group. Also, adding different levels of dried Pomegranate by-products (DPB) improved the blood parameters .Pomegranate by-products decreased cholesterol level in plasma, with the highest effect for R3 followed by R2 and R4 compared to the control group. Moreover, Pomegranate by-products significantly (P<0.05) decreased total lipid and increased total plasma protein and globulin comparing with the control group. Additionally, Pomegranate by-products significantly (P<0.05) improved the daily gain by175.8 g , 175 g ,158.3g for R2, R3, R4, respectively compared to the control group by 150g .Also, Pomegranate by-products significantly (Pexhibited positive effect on productive performance of Barki lambs, weight gain, feed efficiency and economic efficiency, and decrease plasma cholesterol and total lipids.