Influence of Supplemental Methionine on Growth Performance of Uda Lambs in a Semi-Arid Environment

Abstract

A twelve week feeding trial was conducted to determine the effect of supplementing methionine on growth performance of lambs. A total of twelve growing lambs were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments containing graded methionine levels in a completely randomised experimental design. The animals were fed diets containing 0 (control), 2 and 4g/kg methionine. Results indicated significant differences (P<0.05) between treatment means in terms of feed intake and live weight changes. Animals fed diets containing 2g/ kg methionine were better (P <0.05) compared to other treatments in terms of feed intake and growth performance. It was concluded that 2g/kg methionine gave the optimum performance.