Intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance, performance and carcass traits of Santa Ines lamb fed with sunflower cake from biodiesel production

This study was conducted to determine the impact of sunflower cake inclusion in the diets of Santa Ines lambs on intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance, performance and carcass characteristics. Forty male Santa Ines lambs with an average body weight of 20.9 ± 0.41 kg were distributed in a completely randomized design with four treatment diets containing sunflower cake at 0, 10, 20, and 30% of total dry matter (DM). The sunflower cake inclusion linearly reduced the intake of DM expressed as g/day, %BW and g/kg BW0.75, as well as the crude protein (CP), non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC), total digestible nutrients (TDN), neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein (NDFap) of Santa Ines lambs. However, ether extract (EE) intake linearly increased (P < 0.01) with sunflower cake inclusion. However, ether extract (EE) intake linearly increased (P < 0.01) with sunflower cake inclusion. The sunflower cake inclusion decreased the DM and NFC digestibility, an increased the EE digestibility (P < 0.01). Regarding the N, there was observed a linear decreased (g/day) in N intake, N fecal excretion, N balance, basal endogenous nitrogen and retained N (P < 0.05). Final body weight, total weight gain, average daily weight gain and feeding efficiency decreased with the inclusion of sunflower cake (P < 0.05). The morphometric measurements (cm) and conformation index decreased linearly with the inclusion of sunflower cake in the lamb diet (P < 0.05), but sunflower cake did not affect (P> 0.05) wither height, rump height, thoracic perimeter and chest measurements, subcutaneous fat thickness (mm), or the carcass fattening degree. Including the sunflower cake in the diet of Santa Ines lambs reduced intake and impaired the performance and carcass characteristics. Therefore, the use of sunflower cake in the diets of lambs is not recommended at the levels that were studied.