EVALUATION OF SHEA BUTTER SUPPLEMENTATION IN FINISHING LAMBS’ DIETS

Twelve Barki male lambs, six-month-old with an average body weight of 31.75±5.50 kg, were used in a growth trial for 63 days. Animals were randomly assigned into two similar groups to evaluate the effect of shea butter (SB) supplementation on sheep performance. Animals were fed a basal diet (control) including concentrate feed mixture (CFM) at level of 2% body weight on DM basis, and clover hay was offered ad libitum. The control ration (C) was offered to the first group without supplementation, while the other experimental group (SBR) received the control ration supplemented with 5% (w/w) crude shea butter. A digestibility trial was performed at the end of the growth experiment; finally, three lambs from each group were slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law. The obtained results showed that shea butter supplementation did not influence feed intake. Sheep on the SBR diet had numerically less average daily gain, ADG (0.196 kg vs. 0.201 kg) and more feed conversion ratio, FCR (9.14 vs. 8.54), but the differences between groups were non-significant. Supplementation of SB did not significantly affect the digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), nitrogen-free extract (NFE), and crude fiber (CF). Contrariwise, ether extract (EE) digestibility was significantly (p<0.01) higher in SBR group (82.43%) than in control ration (71.02%). The percentages of TDN and DCP were 73.32 and 11.36 vs. 74.39 and 11.35 for the control and SBR groups, respectively, with no significant differences. The reduction of nitrogen balance in the SBR group (19.79 vs. 22.06 g/day) was non-significant. Shea butter supplementation reduced all rumen parameters at two hours post-feeding. However, the reduction in pH and NH3-N was insignificant. Otherwise, rumen total volatile fatty acids, TVFA was significantly decreased (P= 0.002) at two hours post-feeding as affected by SB supplementation, being 9.96 and 8.60 for C and SBR, respectively. All blood serum metabolites were not significantly affected by SB supplementation except creatinine and triglycerides. Creatinine was significantly (p≤0.05) lower (0.89 mg/dl), but triglycerides were significantly (p≤0.05) higher (32.67 mg/dl) in the SBR group than the control (0.95 mg/dl and 19.33 mg/dl, respectively). All blood parameters were within the normal range according to age and sex. The hot carcass weight (HCW) and cold carcass weight (CCW) were decreased (p≤0.05) in the SBR group compared to the control being 25.47 and 24.85 kg vs. 27.09 and 26.43 kg, respectively. As a dramatic result of the decrease in hot carcass weight in the SBR group, the percentage of dressing based on slaughter body weight, SBW and empty body weight, EBW for the SBR group was less than the control (52.00 and 61.22 % vs. 55.29 and 63.88 %, respectively). There were no significant differences in the rib-eye area and back fat thickness between groups.