FEEDING OF LAMBS WITH IMPROVED PELLETED FEED

The feed costs are the major expenses for the farmers and the main input that influenced the economics of livestock production. The physical form of diet is one of the main drivers for better digestibility of feed and improved growth performance of farm animals. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of using two different physical forms of diet (ground feed mixtures and pelleted feed mixtures) on the growth performance of fattening lambs. Seventy-two fattening lambs were randomly assigned to two groups with 36 fattening lambs to assess the effects of feeding with pelleted (test group) and ground feed mixtures (control group) on growth performance. Two physical forms (pelleted vs. ground) were equal in ingredient and chemical composition. The duration of the experiment was 42 days. At the beginning of the trial, the lambs in the test group had lower average live body weight and daily gain compared with the lambs in the control group. However, at the end of the feeding trial, the lambs feeding with a pelleted feed mixture had achieved a higher average live body weight and better daily gain. The results from the ANOVA for growth performance of lambs depending from the physical form of diet indicate that there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the test and control groups of lambs in the 5 th and the 6 th week of the feeding trial. These results support the possibility of using pelleted feeds in intensive fattening of lambs for improving the growth performance, increasing average daily gain and reducing the duration of the fattening period.