Total and partial replacement of corn meal with rice bran in lamb rations: Nutritional effects

The inclusion of rice bran in lamb diets as energetic concentrate has been explored at low levels as it was believed that at high inclusion, it might be detrimental for fiber intake and digestibility. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional effects of partial and total substitution of corn meal with rice bran in lamb diets. Four levels of inclusion of rice bran (0, 7.4, 14.9, and 22.5% of total diet) in substitution to corn meal were evaluated and four Santa Ines castrated male lambs with average body weight (BW +/- SD) of 35.3 +/- 1.30 kg were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square design experiment. There was no effect of the inclusion level of rice bran on the dry matter and nutrient intakes (P > 0.05), except for fat and non-fiber carbohydrate intakes, which linearly increased and decreased respectively, as rice bran proportion increased in the diet (P < 0.01). In addition, inclusion of rice bran up to 22.5% of the dry matter intake of lambs did not affect apparent digestibility of dry matter and nutrients, nitrogen balance, rumen fluid ammonia nitrogen concentration and pH (P > 0.05). Therefore, rice bran could be used as an alternative feedstuff to corn meal in lamb diets.