Effect of Barley Variety on Feed Intake, Digestibility, Body Weight Gain and Carcass Characteristics in Fattening Lambs

Effect of Barley Variety on Feed Intake, Digestibility, Body Weight Gain and Carcass Characteristics in Fattening Lambs

Twenty lambs (18 ± 0.22 kg initial weight) were blocked by weight and individually assigned into pens to evaluate the effects of barley straw variety on digestibility, growth performance and carcass characteristics. The following four treatments were tested: (1) a local barley straw (as control), (2...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animals (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 6; p. 1773
Main Authors: Keno, Mulugeta Tilahun, Tolemariam, Taye, Demeke, Solomon, Wamatu, Jane, Alkhtib, Ashraf, Janssens, Geert P. J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 14-06-2021
MDPI
Subjects:
Agricultural production
Analytical chemistry
Barley
Barley straw
Body weight
Body weight gain
Carcasses
crop residue
Crop residues
Crop yield
Digestibility
Dry matter
Experiments
fattening performance
Feces
feed
Feeds
food
Genetic diversity
Grain
Livestock
Organic matter
Plastics
Sheep
Straw
Vaccines
variety
Wheat bran
Ethiopia
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Summary:Twenty lambs (18 ± 0.22 kg initial weight) were blocked by weight and individually assigned into pens to evaluate the effects of barley straw variety on digestibility, growth performance and carcass characteristics. The following four treatments were tested: (1) a local barley straw (as control), (2) HB1963 (high grain and straw yields), (3) Traveller (high straw yielder), and (4) IBON174/03 (high grain yielder). A concentrate (50:50 wheat bran and noug seed cake) was offered constantly (300 DM g), whereas the straw was offered ad libitum. The digestibility trial lasted 22 days (15 days to adapt to dietary treatments and 7 days for sampling). The growth performance trial lasted 90 days. At the end, all of the lambs were slaughtered, and their carcasses were evaluated. The IBON174/03 variety had a higher (p < 0.05) intake of organic matter and crude protein, a higher dry matter and organic matter digestibility than the control, and a faster growth than the control. The feed-to-gain ratio was similar among treatments. The slaughter and empty body weights of lambs in the IBON174/03 group were higher than the control variety (p < 0.05). The present study showed that the feeding value of barley straw can differ substantially between varieties and therefore must be considered in the choice of a barley variety.
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ISSN:2076-2615
2076-2615
DOI:10.3390/ani11061773