Replacement of corn by forage cactus meal in growing lambs diets. Performance

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate four corn replacement levels (0, 33, 67 and 100%) by forage cactus meal on performance of feedlot growing lambs. Twenty crossbred lambs were allotted to a completely randomized block design with four treatments (replacement of corn by forage cactus meal) and five replications. Besides corn and/or forage cactus meal, the animals were fed Tifton hay (Cynodon dactylon), as forage, soybean meal, limestone and mineral salt. Weight gain and feed:gain ratio decreased and intakes of NDF and ADF increased linearly with corn replacement. The intakes of dry matter, crude protein, organic matter and total carbohydrates and carcass yield were not affected by replacement of corn by forage cactus meal.