Department of Animal Production-Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria.
Department of Animal Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Hama, Hama, Syria.
BMC Vet Res. 2024 Aug 30;20(1):386. doi: 10.1186/s12917-024-04244-z.
Interest is growing in the search for alternatives to traditional feed additives, so this study aimed to investigate the effect of adding zeolite to the concentrate diets of Awassi lambs with or without urea on growth performance, nutrient digestion, and health status. A total of 45 Awassi lambs similar in weight (24 ± 2 kg) and age (3 months ± 4 days) were divided into three groups: the first group (G1) fed on a concentrate diet supplemented with 1% urea; the second group (G2) fed on the concentrate diet supplemented with 1% urea and 3% zeolite, and the third group (G3) fed on a urea-free diet supplemented with 3% zeolite.
The results showed a significant increase (P ≤ 0.05) in final live weight, daily and total weight gain for group G2 compared to groups G1and G3, with a significant superiority (P ≤ 0.05) of group G3 over the control group G1. Significant improvement (P < 0.05) was also observed in feed consumption and feed conversion ratio in diets supplemented with zeolite for groups G2 and G3 compared to the control group G1. Additionally, there was a significant increase (P ≤ 0.05) in nutrient digestion and nutritional value in the diet of group G2 containing urea with added zeolite compared to groups G1 and G3. Zeolite did not affect the levels of glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, and albumin in the blood, but a significant increase (P ≤ 0.05) in total blood protein level and a significant decrease (P ≤ 0.05) in blood urea level were noted for groups G2 and G3 compared to the control group G1.
Adding zeolite to urea-containing concentrate diets improved growth rates and nutrient digestion, of Awassi lambs. In diets without urea, zeolite improved growth rates without affecting nutrient digestion coefficients, in both types of diets, zeolite increased total protein levels and decreased blood urea levels, with all physiological indicators in lambs blood remaining within normal limits.
人们对寻找传统饲料添加剂替代品的兴趣日益浓厚，因此本研究旨在探讨在浓缩饲料日粮中添加沸石对添加或不添加尿素的绵羊生长性能、养分消化和健康状况的影响。将 45 只体重（24±2kg）和年龄（3 月龄±4 天）相近的 Awassi 羔羊分为三组：第一组（G1）饲喂添加 1%尿素的浓缩饲料；第二组（G2）饲喂添加 1%尿素和 3%沸石的浓缩饲料，第三组（G3）饲喂不添加尿素、添加 3%沸石的浓缩饲料。
结果表明，与 G1 和 G3 组相比，G2 组的末重、日增重和总增重均显著增加（P≤0.05），且 G3 组显著优于对照组 G1 组。与对照组 G1 组相比，添加沸石的 G2 和 G3 组的采食量和饲料转化率也显著提高（P≤0.05）。此外，与 G1 和 G3 组相比，添加沸石的含尿素日粮 G2 组的养分消化率和营养价值显著提高（P≤0.05）。沸石对血液中葡萄糖、甘油三酯、胆固醇和白蛋白的水平没有影响，但 G2 和 G3 组的总血蛋白水平显著升高（P≤0.05），血尿素水平显著降低（P≤0.05），与对照组 G1 组相比。
在含尿素的浓缩饲料日粮中添加沸石可提高绵羊的生长速度和养分消化率。在不含尿素的日粮中，沸石可提高生长速度而不影响养分消化系数，在这两种日粮中，沸石均可提高总蛋白水平并降低血尿素水平，羔羊血液中的所有生理指标均保持在正常范围内。
