Development, economic viability and attributes of lamb carcass from confined animals fed on different amounts of crude glycerin

Abstract

The current study aims to assess the effect from crude glycerin inclusion (0, 7, 14, and 21% dry matter) in the diet of slaughtered lamb on their development, nutrient consumption, biometrical measures, diet economic viability and carcass features. Thirty two (32) non-castrated male Texel lambs were used in the study, they presented mean initial weight 15.9 ± 4.1 kilos and were distributed in casual outlining. They were fed with four treatments, with 8 repetitions. Animals were slaughtered when they reached approximately 35 kilos. The mean total weight gain was 20.72 kilos and mean daily weight gain was 260 grams. No changes resulted from glycerin use. The carcass performance was similar among treatments (P>0.05) and the cold carcass performance (CCP) was 44.68%. There were no effects (P>0.05) on the loin eye area (LEA) and on fat thickness (FT); they showed averages of 13.66 cm2 and 0.84 mm, respectively. Nutrition cost per animal during the whole confinement period varied between R$82.60 (eighty-two Reais and forty-eight cents) to R$92.48. The smallest nutrition amount consisted of 21% crude glycerin. The gross profit ranged from R$30.75 to R$ 34.01 per animal, for feed without glycerin and 21% glycerin, respectively. Animal development was not impacted by glycerin introduction, even with decrease on dry and organic mass consumption. The result showed that crude glycerin inclusion might be used in lambs’ diet. Whenever there are big amounts of feed involved in the process, the 21% crude glycerin addition may be an interesting cost reduction. Seventy eight percent (78%) glycerol crude glycerin to replace corn-based feed in confined lambs’ diet appeared to be nutritionally and economically viable.