Soybean molasses in the diet of lambs: performance, carcass characteristics, dry matter and nutrients intake

Abstract

In recent years, grain production in Brazil has been growing, along with the release of organic waste with high energy and protein source. The best use of these coproducts in the diet of the animals becomes important practice in the production of meat, especially when think at sustainability. Although diets can affect animal production, there is no study investigating changes in performance and carcass characteristics due to differences in levels of soybean molasses to lambs in feedlot. Therefore, it is hypothesized that efficiency to lambs in feedlot will be similar as a total replacement dietary corn. In this way, the objective is to evaluate the effects of the inclusion of soybean molasses in partial and total replacement to the finished lambs at the feedlot on performance, carcass characteristics, dry matter (DM) and nutrients intake. Thirty lambs (Santa Inês E Dorper) with initial weight of ± 16 kg, 90 days-old, kept in feedlot (individual pens) until reaching a body weight of 35 kg, when they will be slaughtered. The experimental diets will be 0 (CON), 15% (M15) or 30% (M30) of soybean molasses in the DM of the total diet. It will be evaluated the DM and nutrients intake, average daily gain, feed efficiency, feed conversion, warm or cold carcass weight, cooling loss, warm and true carcass yield, fat thickness in the longissimus muscle area. If the hypothesis is confirmed, it will contribute to show that soybean molasses is an alternative that provides animals with similar production traits, compared to the commonly provided diets, which could help nutritionists and farmers, as well as contribute to the reduction of waste to the environment, on the other hand, it helps maintain livestock in Brazil and around the world viable. (AU)