Nutritional Supplements Fortified with Oils from Canola, Flaxseed, Safflower and Rice Bran Improve Feedlot Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Australian Prime Lambs.

Hung Le,Peter Nichols,Aduli Malau-Aduli,Bunmi Malau-Aduli,Don Nguyen,Quang Nguyen

doi:10.3390/ani8120231

Abstract

Simple SummaryThis study evaluated the feedlot response of Australian prime lambs to supplementation with oil based polyunsaturated fatty acid enriched pellets. The results demonstrated that live animal performance and carcass characteristics of prime lambs on a lucerne basal diet were improved after the supplementation with oil based polyunsaturated fatty acid enriched pellets. Supplementation of lambs with rice bran oil and canola oil resulted in improved live animal performance and carcass characteristics of prime lambs at comparatively lower feed costs than oils from flaxseed, safflower and rumen-protected sources. These results are very useful for prime lamb producers in increasing product quality and farm profitability without compromising animal performance and well-being.This study investigated live animal performance and carcass characteristics of Australian prime lambs fed oil based polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) enriched pellets in a feedlot system. The tested hypothesis was that supplementation of lambs with a variety of dietary oil based PUFA enriched pellets would enhance growth and carcass characteristics compared with the control lambs fed only with lucerne hay. Seventy-two, 6 months old White Suffolk x Corriedale first-cross prime lambs with an average liveweight (LWT) of 35.7 ± 0.9 kg were allocated to six treatment groups in a completely randomised experimental design. The treatments were: (1) control: lucerne hay only; or lucerne hay plus wheat-based pellets infused with 50 mL/kg dry matter (DM) of oils from (2) rice bran (RBO); (3) canola (CO); (4) rumen protected (RPO); (5) flaxseed (FO) and (6) safflower (SO) dietary sources. All lambs had ad libitum access to lucerne hay and clean fresh water. Supplemented lambs were fed 1 kg of pellet/head/day for 10 weeks. Feed intake, final LWT, average daily gain (ADG), body conformation and carcass characteristics of lambs in the supplemented groups were all greater than for the control group. SO lambs had the lowest ADG of 190.3 g/day. RBO and CO treatments had the lowest feed cost per unit gain of AU$3.0/kg. Supplemented lambs had similar over the hooks (OTH) incomes that were all higher than that of the control group. This empirical evidence-based data demonstrated that supplementation of lambs with RBO and CO had comparatively lower feed costs without compromising ADG, carcass characteristics and OTH income.

Highlights

The Australian sheep industry has undergone significant changes within the last decade and witnessed a sustained decrease in the value and scale of wool and a steady rise in production and price of lamb and mutton [1]
Red meat contains natural omega-3 long-chain (≥ C20) polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA), the content of which can be manipulated by modifying the composition of livestock feeds [6]. n-3 LC-PUFA are well known for human health benefits including anti-inflammatory, therapeutic and protective effects against cardiovascular diseases and various types of cancer [7,8,9,10]
In terms of ether extract (EE) content, the level in the supplemented pellets fluctuated between 5.1% and 5.6%, which was at least three-fold higher than the amount in the basal feed

Summary

Introduction

The Australian sheep industry has undergone significant changes within the last decade and witnessed a sustained decrease in the value and scale of wool and a steady rise in production and price of lamb and mutton [1]. Australia was the second largest producer of lamb and mutton in the world from 2010 to 2016 [2] and maintenance of the global competitiveness of Australian meat production ensured the sustainable development of its lamb industry. Red meat contains natural omega-3 long-chain (≥ C20) polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA), the content of which can be manipulated by modifying the composition of livestock feeds [6]. It is challenging to increase n-3 LC-PUFA content in red meat because of lipolysis and extensive biohydrogenation that occurs in the rumen through microbial activity in ruminants [11,12]. In some instances, adding oil based PUFA supplements to ruminant rations resulted in reduced animal feed intake, animal performance and carcass muscle mass [13,14]

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