Effect of Feeding Frequency on Intake, Digestibility, Ingestive Behavior, Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Meat Quality of Male Feedlot Lambs

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding frequencies (one, two, three, and four times per day) on the performance of male feedlot lambs. Forty Santa Inês male lambs were used with an average age of 120 days approximately and initial body weight of 24.90 ± 1.8 kg (mean ± S.D.). The lambs were distributed to treatment groups in a completely randomized experimental design, with 10 animals per treatment, placed in individual pens. A standard diet consisted of Tifton-85 hay and concentrate with a ratio of 60:40, respectively. The different feeding frequencies did not influence (p > 0.05) the intake of nutritional components, blood parameters, weight gain, ingestive behavior, carcass characteristics, or meat quality of male feedlot lambs. The feeding frequency of 3 and 4 times per day promoted the highest digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF; p = 0.008) and total digestible nutrients (TDN; p = 0.002). The feeding frequency of 3 times per day promoted the highest digestibility of crude protein (CP; p = 0.005). The time devoted to rumination (min/kg DM) was increased (p = 0.029) when the diet was supplied once a day compared to the other feeding frequencies. Based on these results, the recommended feeding frequency for male feedlot lambs is once a day. When feeding at this frequency, the ingestive behavior, productivity, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of male feedlot lambs will not be compromised.

Nutrient Intake, Performance, Carcass Characteristics, Meat Quality, and Cost Analysis of Sheep Submitted to Intermittent Supplementation on Masai Grass Pastures

“…The weights and yields of commercial cuts ( Table 6 ) and the leg and carcass compacity indices are similar to the revised values [ 34 , 35 ] and compliment the potential of the Santa Inês breed for meat production, which is confirmed by the fact that over 60% of the carcass is made up of noble cuts (leg, loin, and shoulder). More than producing meat, it is noteworthy that sheep of that breed are able to remain productive even under less favorable environmental conditions for production.…”

Impact of Tithonia diversifolia and Pennisetum purpureum-based Ration on Nutrient Intake, Nutrient Digestibility and Milk Yield of Etawa Crossbreed Dairy Goat

“…It is critical to determine the animal's amount of consumption in order to calculate the nutrients available for maintenance and production (Barreto et al 2012). High level of consumption affects livestock production performance (Pazla et al 2021a;Saldanha et al 2021). Furthermore, according to Baumont (1996), palatability of the feed is defined as all the physical (plant bearing, spines, etc.)…”

“…High percentage of ration indicate its quality. DMI is determined by the amount of ration consumed, the rate of digestion, and the type of nutrient content (Saldanha et al 2021). Besides that, crude fiber content on ration impacts nutrient digestibility.…”

Technologies Used in Production Systems for Santa Inês Sheep: A Systematic Review

“…Feeding management is also able to influence animal performance. By evaluating the effects of feeding frequencies (once, twice, three times, and four times a day), Saldanha et al ( 133 ) could recommend feeding once a day to avoid compromising the performance of confined male lambs.…”