Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate performance and biometrics of lambs fed different sources of forage. Twenty-four six-month-old Santa Inês female lambs were randomly allocated to four experimental diets and housed in individual stalls. They weighed on average 26.35±0.20 kg. The diets were coast cross hay (HAY), cassava hay (CAS), dehydrated by-product of pea crop (PEA) and saccharin (SAC). The diets were formulated with the same amount of protein and energy with fixed levels of forage (60%) and concentrate (40%). Adaptation to the diet took 7 days, with 45 days on experiment. Weights and biometric measurements were obtained every fortnight and feed intake three times a week. Rights half-carcasses were weighed and sectioned into retail cuts, rib, loin, shoulder, belly, neck and leg, which were weighed individually. Weight gain in lambs was significantly different between diets, with those fed saccharin gaining more. Overall, treatments did not significantly affect biometric measurements. There was a significant difference for feed intake and live weight at the end of the experiment. Animals fed PEA and SAC showed the best results. Average positive correlations were found between biometric measurements and live weight. Treatment PEA had heavier hot (14.36 kg) and cold (14.01 kg) carcass weights than the other groups. Hot carcass kill-out was higher for animals fed PEA as well as ham weight, belly, neck and heart girth. The weight of the abdominal viscera (%) for lambs fed CAS was greater than those fed SAC and PEA. The weights of the thoracic viscera as well as the liver, for lambs fed PEA were higher. The by-product of pea yielded best results, followed by saccharin, and can replace traditional forage sources in the region, providing similar results in terms of cuts and body components. These could be an alternative for feeding sheep in the dry season. The substitution of forages using by-product of pea and saccharin led to improved productivity over the coast-cross hay available in the Federal District - Brazil.
Highlights
Sheep production in Brazil is characterized by the need for standardized and differentiated products, and is affected by the quality of the product and speed with which the various parts in the production chain can exchange information: farmer, slaughterhouse, retail and institutional and consumer markets (Souza, 2006)
The initial weight did not differ between treatments, but during the experiment there were changes in the weights of the animals (Table 3)
Body condition score (BCS) of animals fed SAC was higher and differed (P
Summary
Sheep production in Brazil is characterized by the need for standardized and differentiated products, and is affected by the quality of the product and speed with which the various parts in the production chain can exchange information: farmer, slaughterhouse, retail and institutional and consumer markets (Souza, 2006). According to Souza et al (2004), productivity is low, in part due to seasonality in forage production and the frequent changes in prices of grains and protein supplements used in animal feed. The use of agro-industrial by-products or crop residues represents important feed resources for sheep in the period of fodder scarcity (Souza et al, 2004; Nunes et al, 2007). The agro-industries installed in the Federal District, Brazil and its surroundings offer numerous byproducts from cassava and other crops, minimally processed fruits and vegetables, seeds and grains, tomatoes, sweet corn, as well as products for bakeries and breweries. The use of by-products of these industries is increasing and they can be used as components of animal feed, mainly for semiconfined and confined ruminants, helping to reduce costs (Nunes et al, 2007)
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