• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.24 no.7
• /
• pp.946-951
• /
• 2011

The study was conducted to evaluate enzose (corn dextrose), a corn milling byproduct, as substitute for corn grain as energy in growing lambs. Five iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets were formulated. The control diet (E0) had no enzose whereas enzose replaced 20, 40, 60 and 80% corn grain in E20, E40, E60 and E80 diets on the basis of energy supply, respectively. Fifty growing lambs were divided into 5 groups, 10 animals in each, in a randomized complete block design. Nutrients (dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fibre) intake and digestibilities increased with gradual replacement of corn grain by enzose. Lambs fed E80 diet also retained higher nitrogen (N) than those fed E0 diet. Plasma glucose, $T_3$ and $T_4$ increased while urea N decreased in lambs receiving higher enzose content. Maximum weight gain was recorded in lambs fed diets containing maximum concentration of E as a replacement for corn grains. A better feed conversion ratio was recorded in lambs fed E80 compared with those fed E0 diet. The study suggests that enzose can be used as an economical feed ingredient to replace corn grain upto 80%, without any adverse effects on growth performance of growing lambs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.22 no.8
• /
• pp.1124-1132
• /
• 2009

A trial was conducted to study the effect of supplemental chromium (Cr) levels from a Cr-yeast source on performance, digestibility and carcass characteristics of transport-stressed lambs. Forty-eight Naemi lambs (avg. BW 31.7 kg) were transported by truck for a distance of 1,450 km. On arrival day, the lambs were randomly allocated to four groups receiving diets supplemented with 0.0, 0.3, 0.6 or 0.9 ppm Cr. Each group consisted of four separately housed replicates of three lambs each. The lambs were fed their respective diets ad libitum for 84 d (21 d stress period, followed by 63 d growing period). Road transit of lambs resulted in a decreased (p<0.001) live body weight of 8.5%. Supplementation of Cr-yeast did not alter the performance of lambs during the stress period. Linear and quadratic increases (p<0.05) were observed in DMI and ADG, respectively, with increasing supplemental Cr levels in the diets during the growing period. Values were greater (p<0.05) by 14.7% and 20.8%, respectively, for lambs fed 0.3 ppm Cr compared to control, while those fed on the other two levels were intermediate. Over the 84-d feeding period, a trend was noted towards a slight increase in loin eye area and a decrease in body wall fat thickness for lambs fed Cr supplementation compared to the control group. This study suggests that the supplementation of Cr-yeast, especially at 0.3 ppm level, is beneficial for improving the performance of growing lambs whether the animals are stressed or not.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.14 no.8
• /
• pp.1078-1084
• /
• 2001

Twelve growing male lambs ($10.05{\pm}0.41kg$, 5 months age) were assigned to three equal groups in a completely randomized design and fed respectively wheat straw (WS), ammoniated wheat straw (AWS) or urea supplemented wheat straw (USWS) along with concentrate mixtures of varying protein and energy contents to meet their requirements as per NRC (1985). Despite comparable nutrient intake and digestibility, the lambs fed A WS based diet digested lower (p<0.05) crude protein. The digestibility of NDF and hemicellulose were lower while the digestibility of cellulose was higher in lambs on AWS as compared to lambs on USWS based diet. The lambs of all the three groups were in positive and comparable N, Ca and P balance except higher Ca balance in lambs fed WS based diet. The body weight change, average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency were similar among the dietary groups. All the parameters of rumen fermentation pattern were comparable between lambs of AWS and USWS based diets except ammonia-N concentration that was higher in the latter however it was lower in WS fed group. Though, the feeding cost per unit gain was comparable in lambs fed all the three diets, the cost incurred towards roughage during 120 days of experimental feeding was significantly less in lambs fed AWS than UTWS. Thus, feeding of USWS can be practiced to minimize labour cost and environmental pollution involved in the process of urea treatment without affecting the performance of growing lambs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.522-528
• /
• 2018

Objective: This study evaluated inclusion of buckwheat silage to the diet of growing lambs in terms of meat quality as compared to maize silage. Methods: Buckwheat, rich in total phenols (TP, 33 g/kg dry matter [DM]), was harvested at the end of the milk stage and ensiled in 40 kg plastic bags after wilting (294 g/kg silage DM). A total of 18 growing lambs ($21.6{\pm}1.2$) were individually fed isonitrogenous and isoenergetic total mixed rations (TMR) for 75 d that either contained buckwheat or maize silage at DM proportions of 0.50. At the end of feeding trail all lambs were slaughtered to assess carcass characteristics and meat quality. Results: Buckwheat silage increased (p<0.01) the DM intake of lambs as compared to maize silage, but had no effects (p>0.05) on live weight gain and feed efficiency. Carcass weight, dressing percentage, meat pH, water holding capacity, cooking loss, shear force ($kg/cm^2$), and total viable bacteria count of meat did not differ (p>0.05) between the treatments. However, TP content of meat increased (p<0.001) by feeding buckwheat TMR. Feeding buckwheat TMR also decreased (p<0.05) the b* values of meat. Conclusion: The results provide that buckwheat silage is palatable and could successfully include TMR of growing lambs with no adverse effects on performance, carcass and meat quality. Additionally, feeding buckwheat silage to lambs offers increased TP in meat.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.284-286
• /
• 1989

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.648-652
• /
• 2012

This study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary addition of tea saponins (TS) and soybean oil (SO) on fatty acid profile and gene expression of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) in longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of growing lambs. Thirty-two Huzhou lambs were assigned to four dietary treatments in a $2{\times}2$ factorial arrangement with main effects of TS (0 or 3 g/d) and SO (0 or 30 g/kg of diet DM). The diet without additives was considered as NTNS (no TS or SO). After a feeding trial for 60 d, four lambs of each treatment were slaughtered to collect the samples of LD muscle. Percentage of trans-11 vaccenic acid was enhanced (p<0.05) in muscle of lambs fed TS and SO. The proportion of total conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) was increased (p<0.05) by SO, but decreased (p<0.05) by TS in LD muscle. The percentage of total saturated fatty acids in muscle was decreased (p<0.05) by addition of TS and SO, while addition of SO increased (p<0.05) the percentage of total polyunsaturated fatty acids. The ratio of cis-9, trans-11 CLA to tran-11 vaccenic acid was decreased (p<0.05) by TS, but increased (p<0.05) by SO. The same effects were observed in SCD mRNA expression. From these results it is indicated that including TS and SO in the diet of growing lambs affect the fatty acid profiles of LD muscle and that the proportion of cis-9, trans-11 CLA in the muscle influenced by TS and SO may be related to the SCD gene expression.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.20 no.11
• /
• pp.1713-1720
• /
• 2007

Influence of -110, +110, +220 and +330 mEq/kg of dry matter (DM) dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) on growth performance of Thalli lambs were examined in a randomized complete block design. Four DCAD diets were randomly allotted to four groups, with ten lambs in each group. A linear increase in nutrient intake was recorded with increasing DCAD level. The digestibilities of nutrients were higher in lambs fed -110 DCAD diet than those fed +110, +220 and +330 DCAD diets. Lambs fed +330 DCAD diet had higher nitrogen balance than those fed -110 and +110 DCAD diets. Blood pH and serum $HCO_3$ increased with increasing DCAD level. Serum chloride was higher in lambs fed -110 DCAD diet, while serum (Na+K)-(Cl+S) increased linearly with increasing DCAD level. Serum calcium increased with decreasing DCAD level while serum magnesium and phosphorus remained unaffected. Lambs fed -110 DCAD diet had higher Ca balance than those fed +110, +220 and +330 DCAD diets. Urine pH increased with increasing DCAD level. Lambs fed +220 and +330 DCAD diets gained more weight than those fed -110 and +110 DCAD diets. In conclusion, increased DCAD level not only increased the dry matter intake but also improved the weight gain of growing Thalli lambs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.16 no.9
• /
• pp.1274-1279
• /
• 2003

Thirty-six Naeimi ram lambs were equally and randomly allotted to four treatment groups with three replications per treatment to determine the simple and additive effects of monensin and zeranol on growth performance, carcass characteristics and nutrient digestibility. The treatment groups were: basal diet-fed lambs (C), monensin-fed lambs (M) where the basal diet was supplemented with 33 mg monensin per kilogram DM, lambs implanted with 12 mg zeranol (Z), and monensin-fed lambs implanted with zeranol (MZ). Lambs fed monensin-containing diet consumed 10.5% less (p<0.05) DM/100 kg weight and were 8.3% more (p<0.05) efficient in converting feed than lambs fed control diet. Zeranol implanted lambs tended to grow 35.2% (p<0.05) faster, consumed 5.1% more (p<0.05) feed and were (p<0.05) 21.9% more efficient in their feed conversion than control lambs. Responses of lambs to monensin and zeranol implants were not additive. Except for Z treatment, there were no marked differences in all carcass characteristics among the various treatment groups. Z-lambs produced 12.7% heavier (p<0.05) carcasses compared with those from C treatment. Also fat parameters, namely, kidney and pelvic fat (KP), body wall thickness and fat thickness, indicated trends for higher finish in Z treatment lambs (p<0.05) than for those lambs from other treatments. Except for CF and ADF, no significant differences in nutrients digestibility were noticed between various treatments; feeding monensin resulted in 24.5% and 8.5% depressions (p<0.05) in CF and ADF digestibility, respectively in comparison to C treatment. Nitrogen retention as percentage of total N-intakes was averaging 7.5 and 20.2% higher (p<0.05) in lambs implanted with zeranol than those fed the M and C diets, respectively.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.8
• /
• pp.1105-1115
• /
• 2015

Fifty 3-month-old male Tan lambs (similar in body weight) were divided into 5 groups to investigate the effects of different restricted pasture grazing times and indoor supplementation on the productive performances and fatty acid composition of the intramuscular fat in growing lambs. The lambs grazed for different periods of time (12 h/d, 8 h/d, 4 h/d, 2 h/d, and 0 h) and received various amounts of supplementary feedings during the 120-day trial. Pasture dry matter intake (DMI), total DMI, average daily gains and the live body weights of the lambs were measured during the experiment. The animals were slaughtered at the end of the study, their carcass traits were measured, and their longissimus dorsi muscles were sampled to analyze the intramuscular fat (IMF) content and fatty acid profiles. The results indicated that the different durations of grazing and supplementary feedings affected the animal performances and the composition of fatty acids. Grazing for 8 h/d or 2 h/d with the corresponding supplementary concentrate resulted in lambs with higher body weights, carcass weights and IMF contents. Lambs with longer grazing times and less concentrate accumulated more healthy fatty acids such as conjugated linoleic acid and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid and had higher n-3/n-6 ratios. Overall, a grazing allowance of 8 h/d and the corresponding concentrate was recommended to maintain a high quantity and quality of lamb meat.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.567-572
• /
• 2010

The objective was to assess the concentrations of Vitamins A and E in blood of growing lambs infected or not with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) and fed a diet containing clinoptilolite. Twenty-four male lambs were used. A $2{\times}2$ factorial design consisting of two feeding treatments (B and Z) and two levels of parasitic status, infected (I) and uninfected (U) was used. Lambs were randomly assigned to one of four (n = 6), groups: BU (basal-uninfected), BI (basal-infected), ZU (zeolite-uninfected) and ZI (zeoliteinfected). Lambs of groups BI and ZI were infected with a single dose of 15,000 $L_3$ larvae of GIN. Blood samples were collected from individual animals at the start of the experiment and, thereafter, at 15-day intervals. The average blood serum vitamin A and vitamin E, concentration in lambs (mean${\pm}$SD) was 0.25${\pm}$0.090 ${\mu}g/ml$ and 1.59${\pm}$0.769 ${\mu}g/ml$, respectively. Lambs fed Z diet had higher values of vitamin A (p<0.001), but lower values of vitamin E (p<0.01) when compared with those fed B diet.