Effect of Feeding Exogenous Buffer (Sodium Bicarbonate) as Feed Additive on the Performance of Feedlot Lambs

In the current experiment sodium bicarbonate was used as exogenous buffer to assess its effect on growth performance, nutrient utilization, economics of feeding, blood-biochemistry and rumen fermentation pattern of lambs finished in feedlots. A total of fifteen (15) crossbred male lambs (nearly 11 months age, 20.49±0.74 kg body weight) were selected and randomly allocated five replicates (n=5) to three treatments. The lambs in control group (C) were fed basal diet containing roughage and concentrate (R:C) in the ratio of 60:40, while treatment groups fed feedlot rations having R:C ratio of 20:80 without (F) or with Sodium bicarbonate supplementation (FSB) @ 1% dry matter intake (DMI). A feeding trial of 74 days (including 14 days acclimatization period) was conducted, followed by a 10 days metabolism trial at the end of the experiment. The results revealed non-significant differences (p>0.05) in terms of dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG, g/d), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and digestibility coefficients of nutrients. The digestible crude protein (DCP%) values of rations were significantly higher (p≤0.05) in the FSB group, but no significant difference (p>0.05) was observed in total digestible nutrients (TDN%) values among treatments. Non-significant differences (p>0.05) were observed in digestible DMI (kg/d), DCP intake (g/d), and TDN intake (kg/d) between the experimental groups. Nitrogen balance showed non-significant differences (p>0.05) among the groups. In FSB group, the reduction in feeding cost and production cost per kg live weight was lesser than F and C group. The haemato-biochemical parameters viz., Haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), blood glucose, alanine transferase (ALT), aspartate transferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) showed improved effect on incorporating Sodium bicarbonate as a feed additive in feedlot ration, however, the results were non-significant (p>0.05), but serum creatinine values were significantly higher (p≤0.05) in feedlot groups than control. Rumen pH, total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), ammonia nitrogen, Trichloroacetic acid  (TCA) precipitable nitrogen and non-protein nitrogen (NPN) values showed no significant difference (p>0.05) among the treatment groups, however, total nitrogen values of rumen liquor were significantly (p≤0.05) higher in feedlot groups than control. So, the present experiment successfully demonstrates the positive effect of incorporating Sodium bicarbonate as a feed additive on the performance of feedlot reared lambs without any adverse effect.