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Responses in the growth of body components of finishing lambs to additional metabolizable energy supplied from either grass silage or concentrates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

R. W. J. Steen ,
S. D. Johnston ,
D. J. Kilpatrick  and
D. M. B. Chestnutt
R. W. J. Steen
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down BT26 6DR Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland The Queen's University of Belfast
S. D. Johnston
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down BT26 6DR
D. J. Kilpatrick
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland The Queen's University of Belfast
D. M. B. Chestnutt
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down BT26 6DR Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland The Queen's University of Belfast
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Abstract

Two experiments involving 213 finishing lambs were carried out to examine the responses in growth rate and carcass composition to the addition ofmetabolizable energy (ME) to a mixed diet in theform ofeither grass silage concentrate. In the second experiment the performance of lambs offered silage only was also compared at equal intake with the performance of lambs given mixed diets. On average the silages contained 224 g dry matter (DM) per kg; 148 g crude protein (CP) per kg DM; 86 g ammonia-nitrogen per kg total nitrogen and 723 g digestible organic matter per kg DM. Concentrates were based on barley and soya-bean meal and contained 181 g CP per DM. Responses in carcass weight gain when additional ME was added to mixed silagelconcentrate diets in theform ofgrass silage and concentrates were 9·2 and 10·2 (s.e. 0·90) gIM] respectively in experiment 1 and 9·8 and 10-(s.e. 0·33) g/MJ respectively in experiment 2, and responses in energy retention in experiment 2 were 0·34 and 0-(s.e. 0·012) MJ/M] respectively. However carcass gain and energy retention sustained by a silage only diet were only 0·67 and 0·70 respectively of those sustained by a high-concentrate diet at the same ME intake. The diet did not significantly affect body or carcass composition.

Keywords

concentratesgrowthmetabolizable energylambssilage
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 67 , Issue 3 , December 1998 , pp. 503 - 512
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1998

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