Evaluation of weigth gain, dry matter intake, body condition score and carcass yield of feedlot lambs of the Lacaune breed fed different energy levels in the concentrate

The dairy sheep industry has been growing in various regions of the country, and this production system allows the production of lambs for slaughter during the year, making it necessary to apply techniques for growing and fattening to ensure that they have a good development and provide housing quality to the consumer market. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the influence on the supply of concentrate with different energy levels within the confines of Lacaune lambs. We used 27 lambs and steers with average initial weight 13.3 kg. The treatments were different energy levels in the diet: T1-concentrate with 65% TDN (total digestive nutrient), T2-70% TDN, and T3-75% TDN, both isoproteic with 17% CP (crude protein). The roughage used was Tifton 85 hay (Cynodon spp.) We used a roughage concentrate 50:50. The experimental design was randomized blocks with three replications and three experimental units each. The evaluations were performed every 14 days and the animals were slaughtered after 106 days of confinement, with average weight of 28.61 kg, did not differ between treatments. The results were analyzed by MULTIV. The treatments did not differ for average daily gain (ADG), obtaining an ADG of 150 grams. You can visually verify a better body shape of animals receiving medium and higher levels of energy in relation to the treatment diet that has less energy. Regarding the dry matter intake (% body weight) lambs from T2 (4.08) and T3 (4.03) had a higher consumption in relation to body weight compared with the T1 (3.84). The carcass did not differ between the treatments of which we obtained an average yield of 40.77% of hot carcass, cold carcass weight of 39.69%. The provision of different energy levels did not affect the productive performance of dairy sheep Lacaune breed, but the confinement is efficient in productive variables evaluated.