Articles
Performance evaluation of confined lambs fed cactus cladodes
Article number
1343_17
Pages
119 – 124
Language
English
Abstract
Sheep farming is one of the main economic activities in semi-arid regions throughout the world, however, in some periods of the year there is a shortage of food supply, especially in the dry season, making it necessary to search for viable food alternatives to production, and cactus cladodes is a good alternative due to its high productivity and good energy value.
This study aimed to evaluate the performance of confined sheep fed with different levels of inclusion (0, 250, 500, and 750 g kg‑1) of Orelha de Elefante Mexicana cactus cladodes (Opuntia stricta Haw.) in the roughage:concentrate (R:C) ratios (25:75; 45:55; 60:40; 75:25), respectively.
Thirty-two crossbred Santa Inês lambs, not castrated, with an average body weight of 19±2.4 kg, and an average age of 120 days were used.
The experimental design used was in randomized blocks, with four treatments and eight replications.
The experimental period was 70 days, with 15 days for quarantine of animals, 15 days of adaptation, and 40 days of termination.
It was observed that the final body condition score, final body weight, total weight gain, and daily weight gain were higher for sheep fed with 0 and 250 g kg‑1 of cactus cladodes inclusion.
The feed conversion (FC) showed higher values with the increase in the levels of cactus cladodes in the diets, while the feed efficiency (FE) decreased.
The animals submitted to diets with 750 g kg‑1 of cactus cladodes presented the lowest feed conversion (4.7 kg of DM ingested kg‑1 of weight gain). Cactus cladodes can be offered to lambs at a level of 250 g kg‑1 of dry matter without affecting the performance of the animals.
This study aimed to evaluate the performance of confined sheep fed with different levels of inclusion (0, 250, 500, and 750 g kg‑1) of Orelha de Elefante Mexicana cactus cladodes (Opuntia stricta Haw.) in the roughage:concentrate (R:C) ratios (25:75; 45:55; 60:40; 75:25), respectively.
Thirty-two crossbred Santa Inês lambs, not castrated, with an average body weight of 19±2.4 kg, and an average age of 120 days were used.
The experimental design used was in randomized blocks, with four treatments and eight replications.
The experimental period was 70 days, with 15 days for quarantine of animals, 15 days of adaptation, and 40 days of termination.
It was observed that the final body condition score, final body weight, total weight gain, and daily weight gain were higher for sheep fed with 0 and 250 g kg‑1 of cactus cladodes inclusion.
The feed conversion (FC) showed higher values with the increase in the levels of cactus cladodes in the diets, while the feed efficiency (FE) decreased.
The animals submitted to diets with 750 g kg‑1 of cactus cladodes presented the lowest feed conversion (4.7 kg of DM ingested kg‑1 of weight gain). Cactus cladodes can be offered to lambs at a level of 250 g kg‑1 of dry matter without affecting the performance of the animals.
Publication
Authors
L.P.S. Filho, P.H. Borba Pereira, D.B. Cardoso, A.L.R. Magalhães, S.V. Bispo, D.K.A. Silva, G.D. Gonçalves, A.A.S. Melo
Keywords
cactus, dry matter, feed conversion, ruminants, semi-arid, weight gain
Groups involved
Online Articles (75)