Impact of Feeding Saltbush Twigs on Feed Intake, Weight Gain, and Some Mineral Levels of Fattening Awassi Lambs

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of the inclusion of saltbush (Atriplex sp.) on the productive performance and blood mineral profile of fattening lambs. Eighteen Awassi lambs, 70 ± 3 days of age and 23 ± 1.8 kg body weights, were randomly selected and divided into three equal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological trace element research 2009-07, Vol.130 (1), p.13-19
Main Authors: Alazzeh, A. Y, AbuGhazaleh, A. A, Awawdeh, F. T, Abdelrahman, M. M, Al-Rayyan, N. A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Feed
Animals
Atriplex
Barley straw
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biotechnology
Blood
Body Weight
Cobalt
Diet
Dry matter
Life Sciences
Minerals
Minerals - metabolism
Nutrition
Oncology
Roughage
Sheep
Sheep, Domestic
Trace elements
Weight Gain
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Summary:This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of the inclusion of saltbush (Atriplex sp.) on the productive performance and blood mineral profile of fattening lambs. Eighteen Awassi lambs, 70 ± 3 days of age and 23 ± 1.8 kg body weights, were randomly selected and divided into three equal groups. Lambs in group one (control) were offered 0.2 kg/day shredded straw of barley (tibin) as the sole source of roughage, while lambs in treatment groups 2 and 3 were provided either 0.2 kg/day Atriplex nummularia or Atriplex halimus as their sole roughage content for 10 weeks. All lambs were also provided 1.1 kg/day of concentrate ration. Although lambs fed A. halimus had significantly (P < 0.05) lower dry matter intake than the control group, the daily weight gain of the two groups of lambs were not significantly different (P > 0.05). Lambs fed either A. nummularia or A. halimus had significantly lower (P < 0.05) calcium and copper levels but significantly higher (P < 0.05) cobalt levels in their blood serum than the control group. Zinc blood serum level was not affected (P > 0.05) by the treatment diets. These results suggested that A. nummularia and A. halimus can substitute for barley straw in the ration of fattening Awassi lambs without compromising lambs weight gain; however, special attention should be given to the mineral status in lambs if saltbush is a major feed component for prolonged periods of time.
ISSN:0163-4984
1559-0720
DOI:10.1007/s12011-008-8313-6