Effect of Tra fish oil supplementation in diets on feed utilization, nutrient digestibility and rumen environment of growing lambs

Aiming to study on potential use of Tra fish oil in diets of growing lambs, one experiment of Latin square design was carried out with 4 treatments, 4 periods and 4 male lambs. The treatments included 4 levels of Tra fish oil supplementation (DM basis) from 0, 1, 2 and 3% (MC0, MC1, MC2 and MC3). Feeds offered were the same for all the treatments including Para grass (Brachiaria mutica), Bim Bim vines, brewery waste and soya waste. The dietary crude protein (CP) and metabolizable energy (ME) were fixed with the same levels among the treatments being 17 % CP and 10.5 MJ ME/kgDM. The results allowed to conclude that supplementing fish oil from 1-3 % to lamb diets did not find any adverse effects on feed digestibility and growth and rumen parameters. The conclusion was that the supplementation of 2 % fish oil in diet gave better in growth rate and dietary nutrient utilization of growing lambs.

Key words: sheep, fat, supplements, rumen environment, digestion.