Influence of monensin and salinomycin on growth and carcass characteristics in Pelibuey lambs

To study the influence of the ionophores monensin and salinomycin on performance and carcass characteristics in lambs, sixteen intact Pelibuey male lambs were randomly distributed into two treatment groups. These were fed on a diet (14% crude protein, 2.6 Mcal ME/kg) for 60 days. Lambs in one group received 25 ppm of monensin and the other group received 28 ppm of salinomycin. Lambs on salinomycin gained more (P < 0.05) weight than lamb(3) on monensin (0.244 and 0.194 g/day, respectively), had more (P < 0.05) feed intake (1059 and 898 g/day) and had greater (P < 0.05) Longissimus dorsi area (5.5 and 4.9 cm(2)). However, both groups had similar (P > 0.05) feed efficiency and subcutaneous fat. It appears that salinomycin is a better growth promoter for Pelibuey lambs fed a conventional diet high in concentrates.