Effects of dietary inclusion of discarded cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) on the growth performance of South African Dorper lambs

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the effect of dietary inclusion of discarded cabbage (DC) on the intake and growth performance of lambs. Diets containing 0 (control, DC0), 100 g DC/kg (DC100), 150 g DC/kg (DC150) and 200 g DC/kg (DC200) were fed ad libitum to 36 South African Dorper lambs (22.0 ± 1.3 kg live weight). The dry matter intake (DMI) and lamb growth performance was reduced as the level of cabbage in the diet increased. The feed conversion rate of lambs was negatively affected by inclusion of cabbage in the diet. Diets containing cabbage had a lower DM, OM and aNDF digestibility compared with the control. Nitrogen intake and retention was lower in lambs fed diets containing cabbage. Discarded cabbage can be included in finishing diets for lambs but reduced animal performance can be expected.

Keywords: By-products, digestibility, feed intake, lambs, nitrogen, supplementation