Digestibility and performance of lambs fed with diets containing mulberry hay

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the intake, the digestibility and the performance of lambs fed with diets containing 0; 12,5 and 25% of mulberry hay in substitution of the concentrate. It was used a total of 24 lambs Ile de France breed, non castrated, average age 60 days and and 15 kg of body weight, confined, distributed in a completely randomized design. Voluntary intake of nutrients was not altered (P>0.05) by different percentages of mulberry hay inclusion in the concentrate, except ether extract which decreased linear (P<0.01). The digestibility of nutrients, days on feeding, daily weight gain and the feed conversion, were also not affected (P>0.05). The partial substitution of the concentrate, based on soybean meal and corn grain, by mulberry hay up to 25% does not compromise the intake, the digestibility of nutrients and the performance of diet of feedlot lambs.