Replacement of barley by sugar beet pulp on growth performance, blood and carcass characteristics of young male Dalagh lambs

Abstract

Dalagh male lambs (28) weighing 20±0.8 kg average live weight and 6-7 month old, were used to study the replacement ofdifferent levels offeeding barley grain by sugar beet pulp (780 g/kg fresh weight and approximately isoenergetic and iso-nitrogenous). Measurements were made of dry matter (DM) intake, growth blood profile and carcass composition. The animals were allocated by randomized block design on the basis of live weight to 1 of 4 dietary treatments. Different levels' of barley was replaced with increasing quantities of SBP to provide diets containing 0, 25, 50 and 75% of the maximum quantity of barley. The diets had similar in vitro dry matter digestibility and contained similar estimated values for metabolisable energy concentration. Increases in the level ofbarley in the diet had effect on carcass weights, empty body weight, weights of inner fat. No significant effects of weight of kidney, skin and carcass efficiency were observed. Evidence was also obtained for decreases in concentrations of plasma area associated with increasing concentrations of dietary SBP. Certain significant quadratic effects on blood glucose concentration, which were not associated with indices of carcass and digesta-free body growth, were also recorded. It is concluded that the diet based on SBP alone was not utilized as effectively for growth and body weight gain as SBP-based diets also containing barley grain. The results suggested that any limitation in growth performance by young male Dalagh lambs fed a diet containing high levels of SBP may be effectively abolished by the replacement with barley at a substitution rate of 500/0 or greater.