Abstract :
The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of feeding carob pods (CARP) on performance
of nursing Awassi lambs and their lambs. Thirty ewes with their single lambs
were assigned randomly into three dietary diets. Diets were 0 (CARP0), 200 (CARP200),
and 400 (CARP400) g/kg of dietary dry matter (DM). The study was lasted for 8 weeks (i.e.,
1 week used as adaptation followed by 7 weeks used for data collection). Dry matter and
organic matter (OM) intake was similar among all animals. However, crude protein (CP) and
acid detergent fiber (ADF) intake was lower (P < 0.05) for ewes fed on CARP400 than ewes
fed on CARP0, while CARP200 not different from the other two treatments. Neutral detergent
fiber (NDF) intake decreased (P < 0.05) in the CARP400 diet when compared to CARP0
and CARP200 diets. Condensed tannins intake was the highest (P < 0.01) for the CARP400
diet followed by the CARP200 and CARP0 diets. Digestibility of OM, CP, and ADF was the
lowest (P < 0.05) for the CARP400 diet and highest (P < 0.05) for the CARP0 diet, whereas
the CARP200 diet was intermediate. Ewes in both diets containing carob pods had lower
(P < 0.05) DM digestibility than in ewes fed CARP0 diet. Neutral detergent fiber digestibility
was lower (P < 0.05) for the CARP400 diet than the other both diets. At the end of the
study, ewes fed the CARP400 diet lost (P < 0.05) more weight when compared to the CARP0
and CARP200 diets. No significant differences were observed in the performance of lambs
among all treatment diets. Similarly, milk production and composition not affected by the
inclusion of the carob pods. However, ewes fed on carob pods containing diets were more
efficient (DM intake: milk production) when compared to the control diet (CARP0). Furthermore,
cost of milk production ($/kg milk) was lower (P < 0.05) for the CARP400 and
CARP200 diets than for the CARP0 diet. Results indicate that feeding carob pods at higher
levels (i.e., 400 g/kg or above) may impact the performance of nursing Awassi ewes in terms
of nutrient intake and digestibility. However, it may benefit the livestock producers because
it did not affect the milk production and decreased cost of milk production
