Effects of Replacing Alfalfa Hay and Wheat Straw by Pistachio byProduct Silage and Date Waste on the Performance and Blood Parameters of Fattening Lambs

In this trial effects of feeding pistachio by-product silage with date waste (PBSD) on dry matter intake (DMI), live weight gain and blood parameters of lambs were studied. Ensiling of pistachio by-products (PBP) with date waste increased dry matter (DM) and metabolizable energy (ME), but decreased the percentages of crude protein (CP), total tannins and phenolic compounds (P 0.05). Treatment diets were: 1) control (without PBSD); 2) diet containing 7% PBSD; 3) diet containing 14% PBSD and 4) diet containing 21% PBSD (DM basis). Forty male lambs were allocated to four treatments in a completely randomized design. All groups were fed a control diet for 21 days prior to the start of the 90-day experiment. Thereafter, one group (control) continued to receive the same diet while other groups received the diets containing PBSD. At the end of experiment, all lambs were slaughtered on the same day. The lambs fed diets containing 14 or 21% PBSD had more DMI than those fed with the control diet (P 0.05). Feeding 21% PBSD significantly (P 0.05) increased final weight, live daily gain, the weight of the warm or cold carcass and lean meat. The lambs fed 14 and 21% PBSD had lower TG than lambs fed the control diet (P 0.05). Feeding 21% PBSD significantly (P 0.05) increased the blood total protein and albumin concentration when compared with the control group. The concentrations of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) enzymes in blood were not affected. The results showed that feeding 21% PBSD to fattening lambs increased their performance, and it had no adverse effects on liver function.