The use of broiler litter as an emergency feed during droughts and other periods of feed shortages was evaluated in terms of its effect on the health of sheep. Pure broiler litter (i.e. excreta plus wood shavings), and litter mixed with 7.5 or 15 % molasses were fed for 83 days to 2-year-old wethers. The addition of molasses to the litter caused a significant increase (p < 0.01) in feed intake and final body mass. Various parameters such as plasma enzyme activity, plasma metabolite concentrations and urine mineral and purine excretion did not differ among treatments. Histological evaluation revealed no liver or kidney pathology. Mild myocardial pathology was observed in all 3 treatment groups. This seems to be related to the presence of the ionophore-based coccidiostat, narasin, which was present in the litter at a concentration of 10 mg/kg. It is suggested that these histological lesions are of little practical significance and would not affect the health of sheep being fed the broiler litter as a survival feed

The aim of this experiment was to determine the site and extent of digestion of nutrients in sheep fed broiler litter alone (100% litter treatment), broiler litter plus 7.5% sugarcane molasses (92.5% litter treatment) and broiler litter plus 15% molasses (85% litter treatment). Voluntary intake was increased by molasses, apparently due to an increased rate of passage of digesta through the digestive tract. This resulted in a shift in the site of disappearance of organic matter (OM) from the rumen towards the lower digestive tract. For the 100 and 92.5% litter treatments, 0.37 and 0.46 of dietary OM disappeared in the rumen respectively, compared to 0.21 for the 85% litter treatment, while 0.16, 0.08 and 0.35 of dietary OM disappeared in the small intestine for the 100, 92.5 and 85% litter diets respectively. In the case of the 85% litter treatment, 0.26 of dietary nitrogen (N) disappeared in the rumen and 0.45 in the small intestine, compared to 0.55 and 0.62 in the rumen and 0.18 and 0.11 in the small intestine for the 100 and 92.5% litter diets respectively. There were no differences between treatments for total tract apparent digestibility of N (0.73) and OM (0.65-0.73), rumen degradability of N (71-87%) or concentration of ammonia-N in rumen fluid (53 mg/100 ml). It was concluded that the addition of molasses might be advantageous when the intake of litter is restricted or when voluntary intake of litter is unacceptably low.

The effect of high levels of broiler litter in the diets of sheep on sensory characteristics and composition of fat in mutton was evaluated. Thirty-six South African Mutton Merino wethers weighing ca. 41 kg were randomly allocated to four treatment diets containing 0, 28, 56 or 85% broiler litter. All wethers were slaughtered at a target body mass of 55 kg. Dressing percentage was calculated and the composition of fatty acids in the subcutaneous fat was analysed. An analytical sensory panel evaluated sensory characteristics of carcass samples and loin sample characteristics. High sensory scores (7 out of 10) were obtained for all dietary treatments. Compared to the other treatments, a high inclusion level (85%) of broiler litter in the diet reduced (p < 0.05) the flavour and overall acceptability of sensory samples, decreased concentrations of myristic acid (C14:0) and margaric acid (C17:0) in subcutaneous fat and increased linolenic acid (C18:3) concentrations. It was concluded that the inclusion of broiler litter in diets for sheep at levels of up to 56% should not adversely affect the sensory characteristics of the meat, but higher inclusion levels might have a slight adverse affect on subcutaneous fat composition and sensory characteristics.

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