Volume 16, Issue 2 (5-2025)
Res Anim Prod 2025, 16(2): 146-158 |
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Fathinezhad E, Hosseinkhani A, Mohammadzadeh H, Paya H, Vajdi Hokmabad S, Hasanpur K. (2025). Effects of Different Methods of Wheat Straw Processing on the Performance of Fattening Ghezel Lambs. Res Anim Prod. 16(2), 146-158. doi:10.61882/rap.2024.1459
URL: http://rap.sanru.ac.ir/article-1-1459-en.html
URL: http://rap.sanru.ac.ir/article-1-1459-en.html
Esmail Fathinezhad1, Ali Hosseinkhani *1 
, Hamid Mohammadzadeh1, Hamid Paya1, Samad Vajdi Hokmabad2, Karim Hasanpur1
, Hamid Mohammadzadeh1, Hamid Paya1, Samad Vajdi Hokmabad2, Karim Hasanpur1
1- Department of Animal Science, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
2- Department of Animal Science, Sarab Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sarab, Iran
2- Department of Animal Science, Sarab Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sarab, Iran
Abstract: (753 Views)
Extended abstract
Background: Food and nutrition are undoubtedly the most important topics of discussion in today's world. Increasing population and efforts to meet the nutritional needs of the next generation necessarily require effort and pursuit in various fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, and related sciences. Small ruminants are especially important in rapidly improving the nutrition of the world's growing population. The advantage of small ruminants is short generation distance, faster growth rate, and greater adaptability and tolerance to environmental conditions than large ruminants. Cereal straw is one of the most important food items used in ruminant nutrition. Cereal straw has high levels of lignin and silica, both of which play an important role in lowering its digestibility and nutritional value. The use of ordinary straw in animal feed is common in Iran, and in fact, farmers are more inclined to use straw due to the lack and high cost of forages such as alfalfa or corn silage, although they are aware of its low effectiveness in the production of livestock products. One of the methods to increase the digestibility of wood products is to increase the nitrogen available to the microbes that break down the fibers. The nutritional value of cereal straw can be increased by processing and using urea as a source of ammonia. Conventional processing of grain straw with urea in the country is a costly, difficult, and time-consuming method. The use of a machine is essential to facilitate or eliminate some of these operations. Lime has also been shown to improve the usability of low-quality forage sources by increasing nutrient availability for rumen micro-organisms. Based on our knowledge, few experiments have been done regarding the simultaneous use of lime and urea in the processing of wheat straw and its effects on the performance of fattening lambs. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate wheat straw processing by different methods and their effects on the digestibility, NDF degradability, dry matter intake, and performance of Qezel fattening lambs.
Methods: This experiment was performed on 36 fattening Ghezel lambs with an average weight of 30 kg and 3 months of age in a completely randomized statistical design. Experimental treatments included a control (feeding with a diet containing unprocessed wheat straw), feeding with a diet containing 5% urea-processed wheat straw, feeding with a diet containing 5% lime-processed wheat straw, and feeding with a diet containing 5% urea + 5% lime-processed wheat straw. Dry matter intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), DM, OM, CP digestibility, fecal score, and blood parameters were determined in the experimental groups. The uNDF content of raw and processed wheat straws was also measured with the standard method.
Results: Wheat straw processing with urea or lime led to a decrease in feed intake, but processing with a combination of urea + lime did not affect the total feed intake. In the first month of the fattening period, considering a 2-week adaptation, feed intake showed large fluctuations among the experimental groups, which was partly related to the nature of the feed and the kind of processing and partly related to the disease of some experimental animals. In the second month, feed intake showed a more stable trend, and the control and lime + urea groups presented more feed intake than the other two treatments. The consumption of feed dry matter showed a significant decrease in the two-month period in the treatments of straw processed with urea or lime compared to the other two groups. In accordance with the fluctuations of the consumed feed, the weight gain of the lambs also showed a fluctuating trend during the 2 months of the experiment. The total weight gain was not different among the experimental treatments, but the
Methods: This experiment was performed on 36 fattening Ghezel lambs with an average weight of 30 kg and 3 months of age in a completely randomized statistical design. Experimental treatments included a control (feeding with a diet containing unprocessed wheat straw), feeding with a diet containing 5% urea-processed wheat straw, feeding with a diet containing 5% lime-processed wheat straw, and feeding with a diet containing 5% urea + 5% lime-processed wheat straw. Dry matter intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), DM, OM, CP digestibility, fecal score, and blood parameters were determined in the experimental groups. The uNDF content of raw and processed wheat straws was also measured with the standard method.
Results: Wheat straw processing with urea or lime led to a decrease in feed intake, but processing with a combination of urea + lime did not affect the total feed intake. In the first month of the fattening period, considering a 2-week adaptation, feed intake showed large fluctuations among the experimental groups, which was partly related to the nature of the feed and the kind of processing and partly related to the disease of some experimental animals. In the second month, feed intake showed a more stable trend, and the control and lime + urea groups presented more feed intake than the other two treatments. The consumption of feed dry matter showed a significant decrease in the two-month period in the treatments of straw processed with urea or lime compared to the other two groups. In accordance with the fluctuations of the consumed feed, the weight gain of the lambs also showed a fluctuating trend during the 2 months of the experiment. The total weight gain was not different among the experimental treatments, but the
control and urea + lime groups had considerable, – however, non-significant, more weight gain than the other two groups. The FCR showed no differences between the experimental groups. The diet containing straw processed with lime + urea had the highest digestibility of organic matter, NDF, and ADF. Similarly, this diet, along with the urea group, had the highest digestibility of crude protein and fat. Blood glucose was significantly affected by the treatments, and the urea and lime groups contained lower blood glucose than the other treatments. Blood protein was not affected by the experimental treatments, but blood urea nitrogen was higher in the urea + lime group than in the other treatments at the end of the fattening period. During the first 20 days of the fattening period, the fecal score in the lambs of the control treatment was higher than in the other treatments, although no difference was seen between the lambs receiving straw treated with urea, lime, and the combination of urea + lime. During the second and third 20 days of the experiment, the fecal score was not different among the treatments. Processing straw with urea + lime significantly reduced the amount of undigested neutral detergent fiber (uNDF).
Conclusion: Wheat straw processing with urea + lime led to the highest level of feed and NDF digestibility. Despite the higher weight of the lambs and more feed intake, the performance of fattening animals did not differ statistically. It seems that more research should be done in this field.
Conclusion: Wheat straw processing with urea + lime led to the highest level of feed and NDF digestibility. Despite the higher weight of the lambs and more feed intake, the performance of fattening animals did not differ statistically. It seems that more research should be done in this field.
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