Wheat germ meal replaces cottonseed meal at different levels in diets of Ossimi lambs: Impact on growth performance, feed utilization and economic efficiency

Abstract

This experiment aimed to evaluate the replacement of cottonseed meal (CSM) with wheat germ meal (WGM) in diets of growing lambs on feed utilization and growth performance. Twenty‐eight Ossimi male lambs (38 ± 0.8 kg weight), and 180 ± 5 days were divided randomly into four experimental groups in a complete randomized design for 105 days. Cottonseed meal was replaced with WGM at 0 (WGM0 treatment), 50 (WGM50 treatment), 75 (WGM75 treatment) and 100% (WGM100 treatment). The chemical analysis of the total essential and non‐essential amino acids showed an increase at the WGM diet compared to CSM. The replacement of CSM with WGM linearly and quadratically improved (p ˂ 0.05) lambs' growth performance and feed conversion. The WGM50 and WGM100 treatments lowered (p ˂ 0.05) feed intake, without affecting nutrient digestibility or diets' nutritive. Feeding WGM increased (p ˂ 0.05) total protein, albumin, and urea‐N concentrations in blood of lambs. The WGM100 treatment showed the highest relative percentage of net revenue compared to the other treatments. It is concluded that the complete replacement of CSM with WGM showed positive effects on lambs' performance and economic efficiency.

Influence of Replacing Soybean Meal with Nigella sativa Seed Meal on Feed Intake, Digestibility, Growth Performance, Blood Metabolites, and Antioxidant Activity of Growing Lambs

“…An Eclipse Plus C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm i.d., 5 µm) was used for the separation process. A full description of the process is given in Hassan et al [2]. The mobile phase consisted of water (A) and 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid in acetonitrile (B) with a flow rate of 0.9 mL/min.…”

“…The separation was conducted with an Eclipse Plus C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm i.d., 5 µm). A full description of the process is given in Hassan et al [2]. Specifically, 0.1 g of each sample was mixed with 2.5 mL of H 2 O and 2.5 mL of 6 M HCl and then heated at 100 • C for 24 h before filtration.…”

“…Two main problems face livestock producers when SBM is used in diets: the high cost and fluctuation in price. Experiments evaluated many protein-rich alternatives, including sesame meal to replace 100% of SBM in diets of fatting Katahdin lambs [1], wheat germ meal to replace cottonseed meal at 100% in diets of Ossimi lambs [2], Moringa oleifera leaves meal to replace SBM at 100% in an in vitro experiment [3], sunflower meal to replace 50% of SBM in diets of Barki lambs [4], N. sativa meal to replace at 10% of the diet [5], and many other examples, with positive effects on animal performance. The replacement decreases the cost of feeding and production, resulting in more profitability for livestock producers.…”

“…The control diet based on (per kg DM): 600 g of concentrates feed mixture and 400 g berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum) (NSM0 diet). Nigella sativa seed meal was included at 7.8%, 11.7%, or 15.6% to replace soybean meal at 50% (NSM50 diet), 75% (NSM75 diet), or 100% (NSM100 diet), respectively 2. All prices are in USD, equivalent to EGP 31 (31 Egyptian pounds) at the time of this study.…”

“…Nigella sativa seed meal (NSM) was included at 7.8%, 11.7%, or 15.6% to replace soybean meal at 50% (NSM50 diet), 75% (NSM75 diet), or 100% (NSM100 diet), respectively. ADF = acid detergent fiber, CP = crude protein, EE = ether extract, GE = gross energy, NDF = neutral detergent fiber, NFCs = non-fibrous carbohydrates, OM = organic matter 2. Calculated according to MAFF[21].…”