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Feeding forage mixtures of alfalfa hay and maize stover optimizes growth performance and carcass characteristics of lambs
Author(s) -
Sun Lin,
Yin Qiang,
Gentu Ge,
Xue Yanlin,
Hou Meiling,
Liu Liying,
Jia Yushan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
animal science journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.606
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1740-0929
pISSN - 1344-3941
DOI - 10.1111/asj.12928
Subject(s) - stover , hay , forage , corn stover , dry matter , agronomy , zoology , biology , fodder , body weight , crop , food science , fermentation , endocrinology
A feeding experiment was carried out to determine the effects of different proportions of alfalfa hay and maize stover on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of fattening lambs. Forty‐two healthy 3.5‐month‐old male Small‐tail Han lambs of 23.89 ± 0.38 kg body mass were assigned to seven groups, which were fed mixed diets composed of maize stover and alfalfa hay containing 0%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70% or 100% maize stover on a dry matter ( DM ) basis. Each lamb received 1.5 kg DM of forage mixture three times daily and supplementary concentrate (0.5 kg corn per lamb per day) for 60 days. Compared with the control forage diet of maize stover only, forage intake rate and forage conversion rate on the 40% maize stover/60% alfalfa hay mixture were 30% and 5% higher, respectively. Body weight, dressing percentage and net income were 6.7 kg, 8% and 94.37 Yuan higher per lamb, respectively. Thus, feeding lambs with a forage mixture of maize stover and alfalfa hay in a ratio of 40:60 optimized the production performance, slaughter performance, and the income derived from lambs.