Effects of alternative feedstuffs on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of growing Awassi lambs

Twenty-seven Awassi lambs were used to evaluate the effects of dietary inclusion of selected (dry bread, carob pods, olive cake, and sesame meal) alternative feedstuffs (AF) on performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality. Lambs were assigned to one of three treatment diets. Diets contained (g/kg on DM basis) no (0AF; n = 9), 250 (25AF; n = 9), or 500 (50AF; n = 9) of AF, respectively. Lambs fed the 50AF diet had the least (p < .05) intake of DM, OM, NDF, and ME. Crude protein digestibility was lowest (p < .01) in lambs fed the 50AF diet. The digestibility of NDF and ADF was highest (p < .01) for the 0AF diet. Hot and cold carcass weights tended to be greater (p <= .10) for lambs fed with the 0AF than the 50AF diet. Dressing percentage tended to be lower (p = .07) in lambs fed with the 50AF compared to the 0AF and 25AF diets. No substantial differences were observed among dietary treatments in carcass and non-carcass cut weights. Composition (muscle, fat, and bone) of dissected legs were not different (p >= .10) among dietary treatments. No substantial differences (p >= .37) were observed among dietary treatments in all meat quality parameters except for higher redness of the 0AF diet. Dietary inclusion of AF at 250 or 500 g/kg decreased production cost with similar feed conversion ratio. However, at high level (500 g/kg) AF could negatively affect nutrients intake, digestibility, and performance.