جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "fattening lambs" در نشریات گروه "علوم دام"

Due to the climatic conditions and the altitude above the sea level, the northern areas of the Alborz mountain range, from Talash forests to Gorgan forests, which are home to several species of oak trees; The use of oak tree fruit due to its nutritious compounds and relying on the appropriate processing method to reduce anti-nutritional compounds and increase its digestibility, has the potential to be investigated in the discussion of feeding livestock. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different levels of oak fruit processed with sodium hydroxide and urea on performance, apparent digestibility of nutrients, quantitative and qualitative traits of the carcass and some blood parameters of Zell fattening male lambs.

To perform this study, 20 fattening Zell and Atabai mixed lambs with an mean age of 5.5±0.38 months and an initial weight of 27±0.4 kg were used in a completely random design for 90 days. The experimental treatments included the control group (without oak fruit + polyethylene glycol) and treatments containing levels of 10, 20 and 40% in the dry matter of oak fruit processed with sodium hydroxide and urea. The feed consumed by the lambs was in the form total mixed ration at the level of appetite on two occasions (at 8:00 and 17:00). The oak fruit (Quercus castaneifolia) used in this research was collected in the late summer and early autumn from oak trees of the Bolandmazo species, Mazandaran province, Sari city. Experimental animals were weighed every 14 days with 12 hours of feed deprivation. To measure the quantitative and qualitative traits of the carcass at the end of the 90th day of the experiment and after 24 hours of the last feed weighing, 3 lambs were selected from each treatment and killed after 12 hours of feed deprivation. To determine blood parameters at the end of the experiment, 3 to 4 hours after feeding, blood was taken from the jugular vein of the lambs using vacuum tubes containing anticoagulant.

The results of the growth performance showed that the treatment of 40% of processed oak fruit significantly had the highest amount of dry matter intke, daily weight gain, final weight and also the lowest feed conversion ratio (P<0.05). The results of apparent digestibility of nutrients showed that there was a significant difference between experimental treatments in crude protein and NDF (P<0.05). The highest apparent digestibility of crude protein and NDF was observed in the treatment of 20% and 40% of processed oak fruit, respectively. The results of some blood parameters showed that there was a significant difference in the concentration of blood glucose and urea nitrogen between the experimental treatments (P<0.05). The highest concentration of blood serum glucose was observed in the treatment of 40% processed oak fruit. In blood urea nitrogen concentration, the control group had the highest concentration and the 40% processed oak fruit treatment had the lowest concentration. In quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the carcass, the highest slaughter weight, hot carcass weight, cold carcass weight, Leg and Shoulder percentage were found in the treatment of 40% processed oak fruit and the highest carcass yield was found in the treatment of 20% processed oak fruit (P<0.05).

The general results of the present study showed that the fattening end weight, daily weight gain, dry matter intake, lowest feed conversion ratio, as well as valuable parts of the carcass in fattening lambs were improved by consuming 40% processed oak fruit treatment. Apparent digestibility of raw protein and NDF was improved by using 20% and 40% levels of processed oak fruit, respectively.

Moghani sheep, one of the dominant meat breeds among Iranian sheep, is known for its good body size, resistance to changes in weather conditions, and capacity to produce heavy-weight lambs. The Romanov breed is known worldwide for its early sexual maturity, long breeding season, and high productivity. Among high-yielding breeds, the Romanov breed achieves higher twinning and fertility, higher weight of ewes, optimal shelf life of lambs, and heavier final weight of lambs. During past years, increasing productivity of Iranian native sheep breeds, including the Moghani breed, has been implemented through cross-breeding with high-yielding foreign breeds such as the Romanov breed to improve growth and twining rates and reduce size of the fat-tail. Crossbreeding is a way to improve poor production and reproductive characteristics of livestock. Due to the lack of information regarding the fattening performance and carcass characteristics of the Romanov-Moghani crossbreeds, the aim of this study was to investigate the fattening performance carcass characteristics, blood parameters, feed intake and digestibility of Moghani and Romanov-Moghani crossbreed fattening lambs under diets with different energy levels. This research was conducted using 24 male lambs (10 Moghani lambs and 10 Romanov-Moghani cross-bred lambs) as a factorial design with 4 experimental groups and 6 replications (lambs) in each group. The duration of the experiment was 75 days. The experimental groups in this research include: 1) Moghani lambs fed low energy diet, 2) Moghani lambs fed high energy diet, 3) Romanov-Moghani lambs fed low energy diet, 4) Romanov-Moghani lambs fed high energy diet. A rumen-protected energy powder (Energizer RP-10, IFFCO, Johor, Malaysia) was used to increase the energy level in high-energy diets. Fattening performance was measured by weighing the lambs every two weeks. At the end of the experiment, all the lambs were slaughtered and the carcass characteristics, including hot carcass percentage, cold carcass percentage, tail percentage, and back fat thickness were measured. After 24 hours of storage in 4ºC, back-fat thickness between the 14th and 13th vertebras were measured with a digital caliper. Blood samples were drawn from the jugular vein of all lambs 3 hours after feed consumption, and the samples were immediately centrifuged at 3500 rpm for 15 minutes then the plasma samples were frozen at -20 ºC till analysis day determining concentrations of blood parameters including glucose, blood urea nitrogen, cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, albumin, and globulin were determined using commercial kits and spectrophotometer. All the data were analyzed in the form of a completely random design and factorial experiment using the GLM method for statistical analysis. The results showed that Moghani lambs had significantly more tail percentage and lower tailless carcass percentage than Romanov-Moghani mixed lambs. Feeding a diet with a higher level of energy by feeding protected rumen fat decreased the percentage of the tail and increased the percentage of the carcass without the tail. Moghani lambs fed with high-energy diet had the highest back fat thickness compared to all groups. On the other hand, the average daily weight gain was only influenced by the energy level of the diet. Based on the results, Romanov-Moghani crossbred lambs had a higher weight gain than Moghani lambs, and feeding fat supplement improved livestock performance. Due to the fact that no significant difference was observed in the feed consumption of lambs due to fat supplement feeding, therefore, the better fattening performance of lambs in the groups fed with fat supplement can be attributed to the increase in energy intake in these animals as well as the higher efficiency of the metabolic energy conversion of fats compared to carbohydrates (McDonald et al., 2012). Based on the obtained results, Romanov-Moghani cross-bred lambs had a higher weight gain than pure lambs, and also fat supplement feeding improved the performance of livestock. Therefore, crossbreeding fat-tailed Moghani breed with a tailless breed such as Romanov can be considered as an efficient method to reduce carcass tail percentage and improve carcass yield. On the other hand, providing energy in the form of fat may also result in a relative decrease in the tail percentage. In general, the results of this experiment indicated that crossbreeding fat-tailed Moghani breed with a tailless breed like Romanov can be considered as an efficient method to reduce tail percentage and improve carcass yield. On the other hand, providing energy in the form of fat may also lead to a relative decrease in tail percentage.

In order to investigate the chemical and nutritional characteristics of pea pod silage (PPS) and its effect on the performance of fattening lambs, 24 Zandi male lambs (initial BW, 33.5 ±1.5 kg) were used in a completely randomized design over 75 days. Experimental treatments were: 1) control; (basal diet) 2- pea pod silage (PPS replaced wheat straw and alfalfa in the basal diet). The amount of dry matter (DM), crude protein, ether extract, ash, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber of PPS were determined 20, 11.8, 1.8, 8, 62 and 20.2 percent, respectively, and pH was 6.02. The rumen degradability potential of DM and in vitro gas production potential of PPS after 96 h of incubation were estimated 83 and 58.6 percent, respectively. The use of PPS in fattening lambs rations improved the final body weight and increased the daily weight gain (P<0.05). The amount of DM digestibility was affected by the treatment (P<0.05), but digestibility of other nutrients was not affected by the experimental treatment. Blood parameters (cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL and LDL) were not affected by the experimental treatments, except for the glucose, which significantly decreased by feeding PPS (P<0.05). The experimental treatments had no significant effect on carcass traits. Based on the results of this study, the use of pea pod silage as a cost-effective alternative forage in replacement with common forages such as wheat straw and alfalfa can improve the performance of fattening lambs.

The use of agricultural by-products instead of grain seeds in livestock diets has been an important issue for scientific study. One of these products is potato waste that, if properly processed by methods such as ensiling, can replace cereal seeds such as barley in the diet, due to the proper nutritional value of this product, improving animal growth performance, reducing feed costsand prevent food from being wasting. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of replacing different levels of potato waste silage with barley on growth performance, digestibility, and rumen and blood parameters of fattening lambs.

In this study, 30 Zell and Afshar mixed male lambs with a mean weight of 26±2 kg and mean age of 5.5±0.4 months were used in a completely randomized design (CRD) with 5 treatments and 6 replications for 90 days. The experimental treatments included the control treatment (without potato waste silage) and the treatments containing 25, 50, 75 and 100 potato waste silage replacement of barley seeds (based on dry matter).

The results of performance traits showed that there was a significant difference in fattening weight, daily weight gain, dry matter intake and feed conversion ratio between experimental treatments (p<0.05). The highest and lowest final weight, daily weight gain and dry matter intake were observed in the treatment containing 50% of potato waste silage and the control treatment, respectively. The results of the apparent digestibility of nutrients of experimental diets showed that there was a significant difference in the apparent digestibility of raw protein and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) between experimental treatments (p<0.05). The highest and lowest apparent digestibility of crude protein (CP) was observed in the treatment containing 50% of potato waste silage and the control treatment, respectively. The results of some blood serum parameters showed that there was a significant difference in the concentration of glucose, triglyceride, Low density Lipoprotein (LDL) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) between the experimental treatments (p<0.05). The results of rumen fermentation parameters showed that there was a significant difference in the population of lactic acid bacteria, coliforms, protozoa, rumen liquid ammonia nitrogen, total volatile fatty acids (VFAs), acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid and isovaleric acid between experimental treatments (p<0.05). The highest population of lactic acid bacteria 100%, the lowest coli form population, the highest population of protozoa and the highest concentration of VFAs were observed in the treatment containing 100%, 70%, 100% and 50% of potato waste silage, respectively.

The overall results of the present study showed that growth performance, the appearance of crude protein digestion, the total concentration of rumen fluid fatty acids and the population of bacteria and protozoa improved by consuming 50 % of potato waste silage

The use of dairy by-products as a new feed source in order to reduce the costs of raising livestock is very important. Whey powder is a residual cheese or casein, which is one of the animal proteins used in the human food chain. It is also a feed source of protein and contains some useful minerals. Whey can be used in the diet of livestock due to its proper nutrient balance. Also, the fact that whey can reduce the consumption of concentrate without any negative effect on daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio, so the purpose of this study was performed to investigate the effect of using different levels of whey powder in diet on growth performances traits, apparent digestibility of nutrients and some blood parameters in fattening male crossed Zell lambs.

To perform this study, 24 mixed fattening Zell lambs were examined with a means age of 4.5±0.52 months and a means initial weight of 24±2 kg in a completely randomized design for 90 days. Experimental treatments included control treatment (without adding whey powder in the diet) and treatments containing 1.5, 3 and 4.5% whey powder in the diet. Chemical analysis of whey powder used included pH, 6.8 to 5.8, protein 12.5%, lactose 64%, fat 1.5%, moisture 4.5%. Whey powder used in the study was given to the experimental animals at different levels after mixing with the diet. The daily diet was given as a TMR to the animal twice and the amount consumed was recorded. Live weight measurement was performed every 14 days with 12 hours of feed and water deprivation. Measurement of the apparent digestibility of nutrients in the last days of the experiment as well as the study of carcass traits and blood parameters were performed on day 90 of the experiment.

The growth performance results of experimental lambs showed that there was a significant difference in end weight, DMI and daily weight gain between experimental treatments (P <0.05); So that the highest final weight and daily weight gain was observed in the treatment containing 4.5% whey and the highest dry matter intake was observed in the treatment containing 3% whey. The results of apparent digestibility of nutrients showed that there was a significant difference in apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein and NDF between experimental treatments (P<0.05). The highest apparent digestibility of dry matter and crude protein was observed in the treatment containing 4.5% whey and the highest apparent digestibility of NDF was observed in the treatment containing 3% whey. The results of some blood parameters showed that there was a significant difference in the concentration of glucose, triglyceride, HDL and BUN between experimental treatments (P<0.05). The results of quantitative traits of carcasses of fattening lambs showed that there was a significant difference in hot carcass weight, hot carcass percentage, cold carcass weight, cold carcass percentage, thigh percentage and shoulder percentage between experimental treatments (P<0.05). The results of qualitative traits of carcasses of fattening lambs showed that there was a significant difference in the rate of TBARS of the straight muscle 48 hours after slaughter between experimental treatments (P <0.05).

The overall result of the present study showed that the weight at the end of the fattening period, dry matter intake and also the apparent digestibility of nutrients were significantly improved by consuming 3 and 4.5% levels of whey powder. There was a higher carcass percentage and improvement in valuable carcass parts in the treatment containing 3% whey powder.

In order to investigate the effect of alfalfa physical shape and barley grain processing on yield, ruminal parameters and microbial protein synthesis in Dalagh fattening lambs, 30 male lambs of 3.5±1.2 months old with an average live weight of 17±1.1 kg were used.This experiment was performed in factorial form (3×2) based on a completely randomized design with two factors including: physical form of forage and processing of barley grain in 98 days with 6 treatments and 5 replications. Experimental diets included: 1- Chopped alfalfa with whole barley grains 2- Chopped alfalfa with ground barley grains 3- Chopped alfalfa with flaky barley grains 4- Pellet alfalfa with whole barley grains 5- Pellet alfalfa with barley grains Grinded 6- Pellet alfalfa with barley flakes. The daily feed and its residue were weighed and recorded daily for each animal. Rumen fluid sampling was performed on day 84 at 3 hours after feeding. From day 70 of the experiment, the volume of urine produced by each animal was recorded daily for 6 days.The results showed that alfalfa forage in the form of pellets increased the dry matter consumption, increased daily weight, increased propionate content, increased nitrogen, increased microbial protein and decreased acetate and pH (P <0.05). Also, flaxseed and ground barley processing compared to whole barley grain increased daily weight gain and increased propionate, nitrogen and microbial protein levels and decreased ammonia and pH (P <0.05).Keywords: Physical form, Processing, Rumen parameters, Microbial protein, Fattening lambs.

Low feed efficiency is one of the problems in the rumen of ruminants, which results in reduced growth and production of livestock and, most importantly, environmental pollution due to the release of methane and nitrogenous compounds . Changes in ruminal fermentation can be made to improve fermentation efficiency and substrate utilization and optimize feed nutritional value . Antibiotics have been successful in reducing energy loss (from methane) and protein (from ammonia nitrogen) in the rumen . However, today, due to general concerns about the remains of these compounds in milk and meat and thus increasing the bacterial resistance to them has caused the use of materials in feed as additive in some countries . Therefore, the tendency to find alternatives with natural origin for antibiotics has increased over recent years .Plant secondary metabolites are among the natural alternatives that have been studied in recent years that have antimicrobial properties.Essential oils, also known as volatile or ethereal oils, occur in edible, medicinal, andherbal plants. As these aromatic compounds are largely volatile, they are commonly extracted by steam distillation or solvent extraction . Essential oils can be extracted from many parts of a plant, including the leaves, flowers, stem, seeds, roots and bark. However, the composition of the EO can vary among different parts of the same plant . For instance, EO obtained from the seeds of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) have a different composition from the EO of cilantro, which is obtained from the immature leaves of the same plant . Chemical differences among EO extracted from individual plants, or different varieties of plants, also exist and are attributed to genetically determined properties, age of the plant, and the environment in which the plant grows . One of the plant essential oils that has a great potential for use in ruminant diets is the essential oil of thyme (Thymus Vulgaris). Thyme extract contains 0.6-8.8% (usually 1%) of essential oil, most of which are phenols (20-20%) and monoterpene hydrocarbons (such as P cymen and γ terpinen) and alcohols (such as Linalool and terpinen α). They show that sometimes these compounds make up 80% of the extract compounds. Naturally, thymol is also a major phenolic component in thyme and carvacrol is a sub – element (Leung and Foster., 1996). Although goats and sheep have often been fed and managed in a similar manner (goats being browsers and sheep being grazers), they are different, especially in their digestive capability, because of differences in the morphology of digestive system, including the mouth structure and gut, which may influence their ability to ingest and digest feed materials . Available information on efficiency of feed utilization between goat and sheep has been inconsistent with several studies reported sheep had higher growth performance than goats . In a recent in vitro study, Candyrine et al (2016) reported that goats had better rumen fermentation characteristics, including higher volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production and higher population of cellulolytic bacteria compared to sheep, suggesting that goats could be more superior in digesting feed materials.The results of studies performed on lambs and goats ) that have examined the effects of thyme extract or its major compounds (thymol and carvacrol) are very contradictory. And more research is needed to determine their effects on rumen fermentation and metabolism in lambs and goats. There is also little research on direct comparisons of the use of plant extracts in vivo between lambs and goats. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare these two species and the effects of thyme extract on performance and some ruminal parameters in fattening lambs and goat kids.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different levels of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) extract on growth performance, feed intake, daily weight gain and digestibility of nutrients in fattening lambs and kids. For this purpose, 15 goat kids (average initial BW of 17.3 ± 1.2 Kg, 3 month- old) and 15 Dalagh lambs (average initial BW of 21.4 ± 1.5 Kg, 3 month- old) were randomly assigned to 3 dietary treatments: 1) control (without thyme extract), 2) supplemented with 250 ml thyme extract and 3) supplemented with 500 ml thyme extract. Animals were kept in individual pens with self-mangers for 84 days. The results showed that there was no significant difference in nitrogen consumption through the use of extracts between different treatments. However, fecal and urinary excretion nitrogen was lower in treatments receiving 250 ml of thyme extract and retained and digested nitrogen was more than other treatments (P <0.01). Examination of interactions and species effects showed that the effect of thyme extract on excreted nitrogen and nitrogen retention in lambs was different from that of goat kids, so that excreted nitrogen was higher in goats and nitrogen retention was lower. With increasing levels of thyme extract, a significant decrease in gas and methane production was observed in both species (P <0.01). Rumen microbial population (total bacteria, coliforms and lactic acid bacteria) decreased due to the addition of thyme extract in both species, but this decrease was not significant. Also, in lambs and goats receiving thyme extract, with increasing the levels of the extract in the diet, the number of protozoa decreased significantly (P <0.01), so that the group receiving 500 ml of extract had the lowest number of protozoa. Concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein were not affected by the use of the extract. However, blood glucose concentration increased significantly with increasing the extract in the diet and blood urea nitrogen concentration decreased (P <0.01). In general, the results of this study showed that the use of thyme extract in the diets of lambs and goats can significantly reduce gas production, especially methane gas and excretion of nitrogen through urine and feces, and thus increase nitrogen retention and digestion.

Ensiling total mixed ration can be used as a sustainable alternative to efficiently of feed management, improves digestibility and increase performance of ruminants. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of using total mixed ration silage based fodder corn on the growth performance of fattening Zell lambs.

Fourteen Zell male lambs (19.74± 2.07 kg BW) were randomly allocated to one of two experimental diets similar in nutrient contents. Experimental diets included control diet based on alfalfa and wheat straw (CD) plus concentrate and total mixed ration silage based on fodder corn plus concentrate (TMRS). The animals were fed three times daily in three equal portions over a 12-weeks assay following a 2-weeks adaptation period. Lambs were weighed immediately before the morning feeding at the beginning and at 3-weeks intervals. At the end of fattening period, the lambs were housed in individual cages to evaluate nutrient digestibility of the experimental diets. Furthermore, blood samples were collected from the Jugular veins of the lambs for measuring of glucose, total protein, albumin and liver enzymes such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST).

Average feed intake was not affected by the experimental diets, but final body weight, total body weight gain, average daily gain were greater but the feed conversion ratio (feed/gain) was lower in lambs fed TMRS diet than those received CD diet (P<0.05). Digestibility of dry matter, organic matter and neutral detergent fiber were higher (p<0.02) in CD diet that that of the TMRS diet. There was no difference in plasma concentration of albumin, total protein, glucose, ALT and AST between the experimental groups, and all of those parameters were within the normal range for healthy sheep.

It was concluded that ensiling total mixed ration based on the fodder corn was associated with an optimal fermentation and using its in fattening Zell lamb diets caused an increase in final body weight and daily gain, and improved feed conversion ratio. Therefore, ensiling total mixed ration could an appropriate feeing management to improve performance of fattening lambs.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different levels of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) extract on growth performance, feed intake, daily weight gain and digestibility of nutrients in fattening lambs and kids. For this purpose, 15 goat kids (average initial BW of 17.3 ± 1.2 Kg, 3 month- old) and 15 Dalagh lambs (average initial BW of 21.4 ± 1.5 Kg, 3 month- old) were randomly assigned to 3 dietary treatments: 1) control (without thyme extract), 2) supplemented with 250 ml thyme extract, 3) supplemented with 500 ml thyme extract. Animals were kept in individual pens with self-mangers for 84 days. Experimental results showed that different levels of thyme extract had a significant effect on daily weight gain and feed intake throughout the period in both species, so that in animals fed 250 ml of thyme extract was higher than other treatments (P <0.0001). Dietary treatments containing 500 ml of thyme extract had the lowest weight gain and final weight and feed intake throughout the period. Also, lambs had better weight gain and more food intake than kids. Thyme extract reduced the digestibility of organic matter and NDFand increased the digestibility of dry matter (P <0.0001) and the effect of the species on nutrient digestibility was not significant.Overall, the results showed that the best level of thyme extract in animals diets was 250 ml, and at this level the best growth performance was achieved. The lambs were also more affected by the thyme extract than the kids.

In most part of Iran, low rainfall and availability of water resources are the major limitations to the farmer.Feed represents a major proportion of the overall production cost for livestock industry across the world. On the other hand, availability of good quality and unadulterated conventional feed all year round is a major constraint in livestock production. Thus, proper use of expensive agricultural by-products is important goal in livestock production. Therefore, one way to overcome the limitation of forage resources and the high cost of livestock feed is using agricultural by products such as plant leaves or other unconventional sources of the feed. Jujube is a short tree with a height of 2 to 8 meters and sometimes up to 12 meters and is very resistant to drought. The cultivation area of jujube in Iran is about 3,000 hectares, more than 95% of which (about 2850 ha) is in southern Khorasan and 4,200 tons of jujube is produced.  The leaves are readily eaten by camels, cattle and goats and are considered nutritious. Analyses has shown the following constituents (% dry weight): crude protein, 12.9-16.9; fat, 1.5-2.7; fiber, 13.5-17.1; N-free extract, 55.3-56.7; ash, 10.2-11.7; calcium, 1.42-3.74; phosphorus, 0.17-0.33; magnesium, 0.46-0.83; potassium, 0.47-1.57; sodium, 0.02-0.05; chlorine, 0.14-0.38; Sulphur, 0.13-0.33%. The goal of the experiment was to investigate the effects of different levels of jujube leaves on yield, digestibility and fermentation characteristics of Baluchi male lambs.

Jujube leaves were analyzed for dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and ether extract (EE) contents using standard procedures (AOAC, 2005). Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was analyzed according to Van Soest et al. (1991), total phenols (TP) and total tannins (TT). Twenty-four Baluchi male lambs with the age of 140±10 days were assigned to a completely randomized design with 3 treatments and 8 replicates for 75 days 3 dietary treatments and 8 replications in a completely randomized design. Lambs were grouped based on their age and weight. Weight and experimental trail lasted for 75 days. Diets were formulated based on SRNS (1.9.6069) guidelines. Concentrate diet and dried alfalfa hay were used in the experiment. All lambs were fed ad libitum twice daily at 08:00 and 20:00 h with a Total Mixed Ration (TMR) of 30% forage (Alfalfa) and 70% concentrate. The dietary treatments were 1) control (without jujube leaves), 2) 6% jujube leaves, and 3) 12% jujube leaves. An adaptation period of 15 days and an experimental period of 75 days were considered for this experiment. During the experimental period, feed distributed to each animal and corresponding ort were recorded daily. Representative samples of feed and ort were bulked for subsequent analyses. Animal BW was recorded at every 10 days of the experiment after 16 h fasting, to calculate weight gain. In order to directly measure the apparent digestibility of nutrients during 10 days at the end of the experiment, samples were collected from the feeds and their residues and the fecal was collected in the last 7 days. Sampling of rumen fluid was done on days 25th, 50th and 75th of the experimental period, 2 hours after ingestion in the morning using an esophagus tube and its pH was determined immediately. For determination of nutrients digestibility, the amount of feed intake, ort and fecal excretion were recorded. On the 25th, 50th and 75th days of the experimental period, approximately 10 mL of blood was collected from the jugular vein of each. Blood was collected in a tube and directly centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 min at room temperature. The supernatant (serum) was collected and frozen at −20 °C pending further analysis. Blood serum metabolites, glucose, HDL, LDL, cholesterol and blood urea nitrogen were measured.

The results of the experiment showed the amount of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, ash, ether extract, NDF and ADF of jujube leaves were 93.93,88.70, 7.61, 11.30, 1.8, 41.50 and 13.50%, respectively. Also, total phenol, total tannin and condensed tannin were reported to be 4.7, 3.1 and 0.48% respectively. The results of the experiment showed that the use of different levels of jujube leaves had no significant effect on mean daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio, but in jujube leaves treatments, the average daily feed intake was significantly decreased.The digestibility of crude protein in jujube leaves treatments significantly decreased compared to control. The digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, NDF and ADF did not have a significant effect on the treatments (P> 0.05), but the digestibility of crude protein in jujube leaves treatments significantly decreased compared to control (p < 0.05). The pH of the ruminal fluid decreased linearly with increasing levels of jujube leaves, but did not have a significant effect on ruminal ammonia nitrogen concentration. Blood glucose concentration, HDL, LDL, cholesterol and blood urea nitrogen were significantly affected by the treatments. Conclusion According to results of this experiment, the use of jujube leaves in the diet due to the presence of tannin reduced feed intake, digestibility of crude protein, blood glucose concentration and blood urea nitrogen and did not have a negative effect on the pH of the rumen fluid.

In order to investigate the effect of various levels of Poultry by-product meal(PBM) on the performance of Baluchi male lambs, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with 4 experimental diets containing (0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 ) doses of Poultry by-product meal residues and 6 replicates (Lamb) in each treatment. The fattening was a 90- day feeding period preceded by a 14-day adaptation period. Different levels of Poultry by-product meal had no significant effect on daily lamb weight, average daily intake of dry matter and feed conversion ratio. Significantly higher Blood urea nitrogen was observed in control diet than other treatment (P <0.05), but there was no significant difference in plasma glucose in experimental diets (P <0.05). The protein and protein portions of A, B, B1, B2, B3 and C in this experiment were 11.8, 8.23, 22.21, 19.1, and 81.3%, respectively. The results of current study showed that Poultry by-product meal 7.5% can be used in lamb̓̕s finishing diets without adverse effect on performance.

In recent years, many countries and regulatory agencies, including the European Union, have banned the use of antibiotics and growth stimulants in animal nutrition, so it is necessary to find suitable alternatives to these compounds in animal feed, especially animal animals. Synbiotic supplements (a mixture of probiotics and prebiotics) reduce the population of pathogenic microbes in the gastrointestinal tract and improve the performance of the host animal by increasing their interaction. Probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic supplement can be controversial options for replacement with antibiotics and growth stimulants. Considering the effective effects of these beneficial additives on the growth performance of fattening animals, this study was performed to investigate the effect of different levels of Biomin®IMBO synbiotic supplements in diet on growth performance, apparent digestibility nutrients and some blood parameters fattening Zell lambs.

To perform this study, 24 mixed fattening Zell lambs were examined with a means age of 5±0.55 months and a means initial weight of 26±2 kg in a completely randomized design for 90 days. Experimental treatments included control treatment (without the addition of synbiotic supplement) and treatments containing 2.0, 4.0, and 6.0 g of synbiotic supplement per lamb per day. The synbiotic supplements used was Biomin®IMBO, which included the bacterium Enterococcus fascium and fructooligosaccharide and seaweed extract. The daily diet was given as a TMR to the animal twice and the amount consumed was recorded. Live weight measurement was performed every 14 days with 12 hours of feed and water deprivation. Measurement of the apparent digestibility of nutrients in the last days of the experiment as well as the study of carcass traits and blood parameters were performed on day 90 of the experiment.

The results of growth performance showed that there was a statistically significant difference between experimental treatments in daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio (P <0.05). Daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio improved significantly in the treatment containing 6.0 g of synbiotic supplement. The results of apparent digestibility nutrients in experimental diets showed that there was a statistically significant difference between dry matter, NDF and ADF between experimental treatments (p < 0.05). Treatments containing 4.0 g of synbiotic supplement had the highest apparent digestibility of dry matter and treatment containing 6.0 g of synbiotic supplement had the highest apparent digestibility of NDF and ADF. The results of experimental carcass traits at the end of the experiment showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental treatments. The results of some blood parameters at the end of the experiment showed that there was a statistically significant difference in blood glucose and BUN levels between experimental treatments (P <0.05). Treatments containing 4.0 g of synbiotic supplement had the highest blood glucose levels and control treatments had the highest levels of BUN.

The overall result of the study showed that adding Biomin®IMBO synbiotic supplement at the level of 6.0 g in the diet improved daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio. There was also an improvement in the apparent digestibility nutrients in dry matter, NDF and ADF by consuming levels of 4.0 and 6.0 g of Biomin®IMBO synbiotic supplement.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of levels of concentrate and duration of fattening period in lambs on in vitro gas production (GP), fermentation parameters, protozoa number, and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration. Twenty-seven Lori male lambs (26±5 kg BW) were fed with three experimental diets (55, 70 and 85% concentrate) for 100 days (9 lambs for each). At 70 and 100 days of fattening period, ruminal fluids from lambs in each group were collected by the esophagus tube. The mixed ruminal fluids were used for In vitro GP test. Results showed that potential (b) and rate (c) of GP were affected neither by level of concentrate nor by duration of consumption of diets (P>0.05). Organic matter digestibility of diets increased (P<0.05) by increasing concentrate level; however it was decreased (P<0.05) by duration of fattening period. The NH3-N concentration increased (P<0.05) by increasing the concentration level and duration of the fattening period of the diets. Number of protozoa and total VFA concentration in diet containing 85% concentrate was higher (P<0.05) than those with 55 and 75% concentrate. With the extension of fattening period, propionic acid, and iso-butyric acid decreased (P<0.05), while the acetic acid, iso-valeric acid decreased (P<0.05). Interaction effects of concentrate level and duration of fattening on GP after 24 h of incubation, propionic acid, and butyric acid were observed (P<0.05) In conclusion, reducing the fattening period when lambs fed a high concentrate diet may exert beneficial effects on rumen fermentation parameters.

This Experiment was conducted in order to investigate the effect of physical form of the concentrate and buffer type on the rumen and blood parameters and microbial protein synthesis in fattening Dalagh lambs. Twenty eight lambs with an average of 28±2.7 kg and 5 month age were used in a completely randomized design with 2×2 factorial arrangement. Treatments included: 1- pelleted concentrate+sesquisodium carbonate, 2- pelleted concentrate+sodium bicarbonate, 3- mash concentrate + sesquisodium carbonate and 4- mash concentrate+sodium bicarbonate. Sampling from rumen fluid and blood sampling was carried out on days 42 and 84 of experiment. On day 70 of the experiment, 3 lambs were transferred to the metabolic cages for sampling and collecting urine. The results showed that ruminal pH was higher in the treatment of mash concentrate +sesquisodium carbonate in three hours after feeding (P<0.05). The experimental treatments had no effect on ruminal ammonia concentration, protozoan number and microbial population (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the concentration of blood minerals except calcium. Calcium concentration was higher in pelleted concentrate+sodium bicarbonate and mash concentrate + sesquisodium carbonate than other treatments (P<0.05). Purine derivatives and total excretion and absorption of purine derivatives from urine and the amount of microbial protein synthesis in rumen significantly increased in pellet concentrate and sodium bicarbonate (P<0.05).

This research was conducted in order to evaluate the chemical composition and gas production potential of tomato pomace ensiled with sugar beet pulp (5 and 10 percent of tomato pulp weight) and bacterial inoculation (lactobacillus plantarum, 1 mg per kg of fresh forage) and its effect on performance of fattening lambs. Fattening trial was performed using 25 Moghani male lambs (29.164±3.78 kg) for 70 days. Lambs were randomly divided into 5 groups and each group received one of the treatments of control, diet without tomato pomace silage (treatment 1), diet containing tomato pomace silage ensiled with 5 percent sugar beet pulp (treatment 2), diet containing tomato pomace silage ensiled with 10 percent sugar beet pulp (treatment 3), diet containing tomato pomace silage ensiled with 5 percent sugar beet pulp and bacterial inoculation (treatment 4) and diet containing tomato pomace silage ensiled with 10 percent sugar beet pulp and bacterial inoculation (treatment 5). The amount of gas production potential, organic matter digestibility, metabolizable energy and short chain fatty acids was higher in tomato pomace silage ensiled with 10 percent sugar beet pulp and bacterial inoculation than control. Feed intake and feed conversion ratio were significantly higher in control than other treatments. Using tomato pomace ensiled with sugar beet pulp decreased feed cost and the for 1 kg gain followed by increased daily profit. Totally, the use of tomato pomace ensiled with 10 percent sugar beet pulp is suggested in fattening lamb diet.

Red meat is one of the best dietary sources of fat and protein for humans. The fatty acid composition of meat has long been studied, but still receives a lot of attention in research because of its implications for human health. Besides a lower total fat intake, human nutritionists are recommending a higher intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and especially of n-3 fatty acids at the expense of n-6 fatty acids. Numerous animal feeding trials have been carried out using different species and breeds aiming at bringing the polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid (P/S) ratio of meat closer to the recommended value (>0.7), as well as for the n-6/n-3 ratio (<5). Sugar beet pulp (SBP) contains 70% carbohydrates mainly as neutral detergent soluble fiber, which has high water-binding capacity and a slow fermentation rate in rumen compared to the barley grain. Replacing barley with SBP may overcome digestive disorders such as acidosis problem and lead to the utilization of dietary energy towards animal growth, carcass gain, and muscle intramuscular fat deposition. On the other hand, feeds containing fats and oils are being used in animal diets to increase energy density and to manipulate intramuscular fat content and fatty acid composition of the meat. Canola seed contains approximately 40 to 43 % oil in which oleic acid, linoleic acid, and α-linolenic acid contribute to 61, 20 and 10%, respectively. High fat content of canola seed makes it an attractive feedstuff to improve energy density of diets for finishing lambs grown in dry regions, where pasture availability is low. To our knowledge, information containing the effects of SBP as a slow fermentable carbohydrate source with an inclusion of roasted canola seed on growth performance and meat quality characteristics of fattening lambs is not investigated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects SBP with or without RCS in a high concentrate diet on performance and muscle composition of Arabian fattening lambs. This experiment was approved by the Animal Care and Ethics Committee of Ramin University of Livestock Research. In this study, twenty-four Arabian male lambs, 4 months old, (23.7±2.5 kg; mean initial BW±SD) were kept in individualcages (1.4×1.2 m). The fattening period was 99 d including 14 d as adaptation period. At the start of the adaptation period, all the animals were treated for external and internal parasites and vaccinated against enterotoxaemia. The animals were randomly assigned to one of the four dietary treatments included 1) starch, 2) starch with roasted canol seeds, 3) Neutral detergent soluble fiber and 4) Neutral detergent soluble fiber with roasted canola seed. The diets were offered to animals to meet the requirements of growth rate at 250 g/day according to National Research Council (NRC, 2007). Lambs were weighed weekly throughout the experimental period prior to the morning feeding. Feed conversion ratio was calculated as the ratio between average daily intake and average daily gain. Average daily gain was calculated for each sheep from regression analysis of live weight vs. time from day 1 to 99 of each treatment. At the end of the trial, all the animals were slaughtered according to Halal method. Samples from Longissimus dorsi (LD) between 5th and 6th ribs trimmed of all external subcutaneous fat were collected. These were used to determine moisture, crude protein, fat, and ash contents of meat according to Association of Official Analytical Chemistry (AOAC, 2006). Lightness (L*), rednes (a*), and yellowness (b*) of meat samples were measured using a Minolta CR-300 colorimeter in the CIE L*a*b*. Hue angle (H*) was calculated as tan−1 (b*/a*) × (180/π) and Chroma (C*) as (a*2+b*2)1/2. The colorimeter was set for using the illuminant A and 10° standard observers. About 50 g of the LD muscle between 6th to 9th ribs were taken for determination of fatty acid profiles. Muscle lipids were extracted as described by Folch et al. (1957), using dichloromethane and methanol (2:1 vol/vol), instead of chloroform and methanol (2:1 vol/vol), and were methylated according to Metcalfe and Schmitz (1961). The transmethylated samples were analyzed by a gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector and a capillary column measuring 100 m in length × 0.25 mm i.e., with a thickness of 0.20 mm. Helium was used as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Also, tridecanoic acid (C13:0) was used as internal standard. The initial temperature of the oven was 70 °C and was increased by 10 °C/min to 175 °C, where it was maintained for 25 min. The temperature was then increased by 7 °C/min to 220 °C, where it was maintained for 10 min, followed by another increase by 10 °C/min to 230 °C, where it remained for 4 min. The temperature of the injector was 280 °C, and the temperature of the detector was 300 °C. Identification of the fatty acids was carried out by comparison of the retention times with standards of fatty acids from butter, and the percentage of fatty acids was obtained by means of Chromquest 5.5 software. Performance data were analyzed completely random design with repeated measurement PROC MIXED and compound symmetry model. Meat Characteristics data were as a completely randomized design with a 2×2 factorial arrangement using PROC GLM in SAS software. Partial replacement of starch with soluble fiber significantly increased performance concentration of capric, c17:0 anteiso and behenic acid and significantly reduced lauric, heptadecanoic, oleic, linoleic and polyunsaturated fatty acids of longissimus dorsi (P<0.05). Addition of roasted canola seed to diets increased performance (average 288 g vs. 262 g) and reduced the concentration of isopalmitic and behenic acid and significantly increased concentration of Lauric, Myristic, Anteiso-pentadecanoic, Pentadecenoic, Palmitic, Palmitoleic, Stearic, Vaccenic, Conjugated linoleic, Oleic, α-Linolenic, γ-Linolenic, Gondoic, Docosatetraenoic, h-γ-Linolenic, Arachidonic, Eicosapentaenoic, Nervonic, Docosapentaenoic, Docosahexaenoic acids and the total concentration of unsaturated fatty acids with one or polyunsaturated fatty acid pattern longissimus dorsi (p<0.05). Canola seed addition significantly increased n-6/n-3 and p/s ratio (P<0.05). Replacement of starch with soluble fiber significantly decreased and fat addition significantly increased meat cholesterol concentratin (P<0.05). The results showed that the use of canola seeds by changing the indicators of unsaturated fatty acids, omega-6 to omega-3 ratios reform and polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids
can improve the quality and quantity of meat.

The wheat as a main cultured grain in Iran can be used in animal nutrition. Urea as a nitrogen source combined with NaoH and formaldehyde can be slowly used by microorganisms. On the other hand, different physical processing methods can affect on degradability of nutrients in the rumen and other parts of gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the aim of this research was to study the effects of using wheat processed by different methods on the performance, chemical composition and blood digestibility in fattening lambs.
Thirty male lambs with an initial body weight of 31.21 ± 3 kg were used in a completely randomized design for an 84-day feeding experiment with a 14-day adaptation period. Experimental treatments included: 1- whole wheat, 2- milling wheat, 3- milling wheat.5% urea.5 % NaoH, 4- milling wheat 3.5% urea 0.6 % formaldehyde, 5- pelleted wheat.5% urea.5 % NaoH, 6- pelleted wheat 3.5% urea 0.6 % formaldehyde. Five lambs were then randomly allocated to each treatment. At the 70 day of the period, feces and feed intake samples were collected to determine nutrient digestibility by acid insoluble ash method.
Results indicated that chemical-physical processing of grain wheat had significant effect compare to control group on daily weight gain of lambs (P0.05).
For feed conversion ratio (FCR) results showed that chemical-physical processing lead to improvement in feed conversion ratio (FCR) compare to control and grinding treatments (P0.05).
The result of this study showed that based on positive effects of processing wheat on growth performance and digestibility of nutrients, by suitable processing method, wheat can be effectively used as a source of of energy for ruminants.

The effect of partial replacement of barley with sugar beet pulp (SBP) with and without roasted canola seeds (RCS) on the performance, morphology, VFA and digesta pH in the small intestine of finishing lambs was investigated. In this study 24 Arbia male lambs with average body weight of 23.7±2.5 kg were used in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment over 84 days. Treatments were carbohydrate factor (barley or SBP) and roasted canola seed (with and without RCS). Partial replacement of barley with SBP significantly increased average daily gain (P

In recent years, the supplementation of farm animal’s diet with oils has received attention, due to their content of some fatty acids beneficial to human health, such as linoleic and linolenic acids. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of different plant sources of beneficial fatty acids (canola oil and soybean oil) and fish oil, separately or mixed on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in fattening lambs.
Thirty-five male lambs with an initial body weight of 27.8 ± 2 kg and 4-5 months old were used in a completely randomized design for a 84-day feeding experiment with a 14-day adaptation period. Experimental treatments included: 1- control diet based (without oil), 2- diet with 3 % fish oil, 3- diet with 3 % canola oil, 4- diet with 3 % soybean oil 5- diet with 1.5 % fish oil 1.5 % canola oil, 6- diet with 1.5 % fish oil 1.5 % soybean oil, 7- diet with 1.5 % canola oil 1.5 % fish oil. Five lambs were then randomly allocated to each treatment. At the 70 day of period faeces output and feed intake samples were collected to determination of nutrient digestibility with acid insoluble ash method.
The results of current study showed that the experimental diets had significant effect on daily weight gain of lambs (P0.05). Oil supplementation did not affect on dry matter intake (DMI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) during total feeding trial (P>0.05). Digestibility of organic matter, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and ether extrac did not affected, but digestibility of dry matter (DM) in control group was higher than that of other treatments (P The results of current study showed that soybean oil and canola oil at 3% can be used in lamb’s finishing diets without adverse effect on performance of lambs. While, the use of fish oil at this level is not recommended.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different levels of dried powder Purslane (DPP) on performance, meat quality, meat oxidative stability and some blood metabolites in Torki Qashqai male lambs. 16 Torki Qashqai male lambs 3 months (with 22±0.46 kg body weight) were randomly divided into 4 groups and were fed of diets containing different levels of 0 (control), 5, 10 and 15% DDP for 60 days. The results showed that the use of different levels of Purslane were not significant effect on growth performance on 60 days of fattening period. pH and moisture of meat on different storing times (60, 120 and 180 days) were not affected by treatments and time (P>0.05). TBARS levels in lamb meat increased linearly with increasing storage time (P0.05). In conclusion, inclusion of 10 percent DPP in lamb diet improves meat oxidative stability and 15 percent DPP caused more reduction in blood lipids.