Effect of pre- soaking of straw with water for different durations on the performance of Awassi lambs
2016
Khazaal, K | Houcheymi, K | Abdallah, E | Abou Rjayli, J | Harris, A
The experiment investigated the effect of pre-soaking of straw with equal weight (1:1) of tap water for short durations (i.e. 12 (W12), 18 (W18) or 24 hr (W24)) on the performance of Awassi lambs (DM intake, LWG and feed conversion). Animals were divided into groups of 6 and fed as groups receiving equal amounts of concentrates (2.4 kg per group or 400 g per animal) (13.47 ME and 174.75 CP per Kg DM ). Straw was given ad libitum (10 per cent in excess of previous day intake) either untreated (Cont) or according to treatments. Daily intake and refusals of straw were recorded for each group. LWG was determined weekly. The daily DM intake was higher (P less than 0.05) (i.e.W12 (0.64 kg per d), W18 (0.66 kg per d ) and W24 (0.71 kg per d)) as compared to Cont. (0.58 kg per d). However, the observed differences in average daily improvement in LWG (Cont. 107 g; W12 127 g; W18 143 g; W24 126 g) was not significant (P more than 0.05) as compared to control. Due to the improvement in daily intake and LWG, water soaking reduced the cost of LWG and this was most obvious for the W18 group. It was concluded that pre-soaking of straw with ordinary tap water for a short duration (12 up to 18 hr) for 24 hr can have a positive effect on the straw intake and LWG. The technique is cheap and simple to apply with no apparent risk on the health of animals
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