Effect of Palm kernel cake and probiotics on growth performance of growing Barki lambs

Abstract

The effect of two probiotic products with Palm Kernel Cake (PKC) as source of dietary protein and/or energy in ruminant diets on the growth performance and some blood parameters of Barki lamps were evaluated. Two commercial probiotic formulas (ZAD and ICEC-Trol) were administrated directly with theirapplications:P1 (without probiotic), P2 (ZAD), P3 (ZAD + ICEC-Trol), the combination of four different rations: R1 (control), R2 (PKC as source of energy), R3 (PKC as source of energy and protein) and R4 (PKC as source of protein). Barki lambs (n=96; 35kg average body weight) were randomly assigned to 12 experimental groups in a completely randomised block design. (8 lambs for each group) and fed for 47 days. ZAD probiotic was applied at 2 ml/head/day and ICEC-TROL was applied at 3 g/head/day. Animals weight gain and average daily gain were measured and Glucose, total protein, albumin, calcium and phosphorus were measured. Results showed that animals fed control ration (R1) with P2, R2 with P3 and R4 with P3 showed highest (P<0.05) total weight gain (10.75, 10.88 and 10.56, respectively) and average daily gain (0.229, 0.231 and 0.225, respectively). ZAD probiotic improved serum total protein, globulin, glucose when using with PKC in lambs’ rations. In conclusion, using PKC as a source of energy or protein, with two sources of probiotics in lambs’ rations showed to be more effective in weight gain, while using one probiotic (ZAD) is enough for fattening with traditional rations.