Short communication: Feed conversion efficiency of male and female Awassi lambs fed on dried olive (Olea europaea) leaves

Aim of study: To estimate the changes in daily feed intake (DFI), daily weight gain (DWG) and feed conversion efficiency (FCE; DFI/DWG) of male and female Awassi lambs fed on dried olive leaves for six months growing period. Area of study: Deir-Al-Hajar area, Syria. Materials and methods: Twenty Awassi lambs (10 males and 10 females) were randomly allocated to four equal groups (n=5 animals/group, average weight 23.7 ± 2.4 kg). The control groups were fed 250 g/kg wheat straw and 750 g/kg concentrate mixture. For the two other experimental groups, the total amount of wheat straw was replaced by dried olive leaves, i.e. the rations contained 250 g/kg dried olive leaves, 520 g/kg concentrate mixture and 230 g/kg barley. The rations of control and experimental groups were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Main results: DWG values varied (p<0.05) according to the sex of lambs, reaching 161 g/d for male lambs as compared to 136 g/d for female lambs. Ration type had no effect (p>0.05)  on DWG, with a mean value of 148 g/d. FCE value was better in male (7.21) compared to female (9.09) lambs. However, there were no differences (p>0.05) in the FCE values due to the effect of ration type (8.08 on average). Research highlights: Replacement of wheat straw by dried olive leaves in the rations of male and female Awassi lambs had no effect on FCE and could be used as alternative forage for Awassi lambs nutrition.