Effects of dietary calcium propionate on growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing lambs

• DOI: 10.1071/an14824
• Publication Date: 2015-04-10T00:43:16Z
• Authors: German D. Mendoza...; Juan M. Pinos-Rod...; Héctor A. Lee-Rangel; Pedro A. Hernánde...; Rolado Rojo-Rubio; Alejandro Relling
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; Sheep; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/4.2; 0402 animal and dairy science; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/4; 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences; Long-Chain Fatty Acid

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the addition of two levels of calcium propionate on lamb performance and some carcass characteristics. Twenty-one male Creole lambs with an initial weight of 25.3 ± 3.3 kg were randomly assigned to one of the following treatments: 0, 10, and 20 g of calcium propionate/kg of diet (dry matter basis). Intake, daily gain, feed conversion, carcass weight, and rib eye area were not affected (P < 0.05) by calcium propionate addition. Ruminal fermentation was not altered (rumen pH, volatile fatty acids concentration, and fermentation pattern), and ruminal ammonia-N presented a quadratic response (P < 0.05). In fat from the longissimus dorsi muscle, oleic acid showed a linear decrease (P < 0.05) and α-linolenic presented a linear increment (P < 0.05). The addition of 10 or 20 g of calcium propionate in diets containing 350 g/kg grain and 100 g/kg molasses did not modify the productive performance of lambs or ruminal fermentation, and minor changes were detected in long-chain fatty acid in intramuscular fat.