Calcium salts of long chain fatty acids in Awassi ewe lambs' diet: Effects on nutrient intake, digestibility, and blood metabolites

Objective was to improve the growth of ewe lambs so that they could be mated in their first year. Twenty-four Awassi ewe lambs were randomly assigned to one of three treatments. Treatments were: no Ca-LCFA (CON; the basal diet), basal diet+50. g/ewe. day (50Ca-LCFA) or basal diet+100. g/ewe. day (100Ca-LCFA) calcium salts of long chain fatty acids (Ca-LCFA). Nutrient intakes were similar (P>0.05) among groups except for the ether extract (EE) and metabolizable energy (ME). Intake of EE was greater (P<0.05) for ewes fed the 50Ca-LCFA and 100Ca-LCFA diets compared to the CON group and was greater (P<0.05) for the 100Ca-LCFA group compared to the 50Ca-LCFA group. Intake of ME was greater (P<0.05) for ewes fed 100Ca-LCFA than ewes fed CON and 50Ca-LCFA diets. Digestibility of dry matter tended (P<0.06) to be greater for ewes fed the 100Ca-LCFA diet than to those fed the CON diet. Organic matter digestibility was greater (P<0.05) for the 100Ca-LCFA group than the CON group. Digestibility of neutral detergent fiber was greater (P<0.05) for ewes fed the 100Ca-LCFA than the CON group. Digestibility of acid detergent fiber was greater (P<0.05) for the 100Ca-LCFA group than the CON group. Digestibility of EE was greater (P<0.05) for ewe fed diets containing Ca-LCFA compared to the CON group. Average daily gain was not different (P>0.97) among groups. Calcium concentrations were the highest (P<0.05) for the 50Ca-LCFA group. Serum concentrations of cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were greater (P<0.05) in ewes fed Ca-LCFA than CON group. Results indicate that supplementation of Ca-LCFA did not improve the growth performance of replacement Awassi ewe lambs while it improved nutrients digestibility and increased serum concentrations of cholesterol and HDL.