308 Effects of Roughage Source on Growth Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Rumination Time of Beef Steers Fed Steam-flaked Corn Finishing Diets

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 168-168
Author(s):  
Wyatt N Smith ◽  
Catherine L Lockard ◽  
Caleb G Lockard ◽  
Megan Homolka ◽  
Kendall Karr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Performance ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽  
Beef Steers ◽  
Final Body Weight ◽  
Finishing Diets ◽  
Randomized Design ◽  
Penn State ◽  
Dietary Treatments ◽  
Particle Separator

Abstract We hypothesized that roughage source would not impact rumination time and growth performance if the different sources provided a similar concentration of dietary neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and physically effective NDF (peNDF). This experiment’s objective was to evaluate rumination time, and growth performance steers consuming finishing diets with differing roughage sources (corn stalks, cotton burrs, or wheat silage). Beef steers (n = 49; BW = 317 + 5.6 kg) were used in a completely randomized design with 3 dietary treatments. Steers consumed a steam-flaked corn-based diet containing corn stalks (CS), cotton burrs (CB), or wheat silage (WS) included at 7% (DM basis). Dietary NDF was similar (P = 0.36) across treatments. Each steer was fitted with a sensory collar to record daily rumination. Weekly ingredient and dietary samples were estimated for physically effective NDF (epeNDF) using the Penn State Particle Separator. Actual physically effective NDF (apeNDF) was calculated based upon rumination time. Neither initial nor final body weight (BW) differed between treatments (P > 0.52); nor did average daily gain (ADG), dry matter intake or carcass adjusted variables of FBW, ADG, empty BW, or empty body fat (P > 0.31). However, gain to feed (G:F) tended to differ (P = 0.06) between treatments. The CS diet had the greatest G:F with no difference (P = 0.75) between CB and WS. Dietary NDF and epeNDF were similar (P > 0.35) among roughage sources; however, CB had the least apeNDF, consistent with lower rumination time (P < 0.01). When energy values were calculated from animal performance, the CS diet had the greatest observed energy values, followed by WS and CB having the least. These results indicate roughage source impacted rumination time, although steers were fed a steam-flaked corn-based finishing diet with similar dietary roughage and NDF inclusions.

251 Effects of Roughage Source on Rumination Time and Ruminal Ph in Steers Fed a Steam-flaked Corn Finishing Diet

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 127-127
Author(s):  
Wyatt Smith ◽  
Catherine Lockard ◽  
Caleb Lockard ◽  
Megan Homolka ◽  
Kendall Karr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin Square ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽  
Beef Steers ◽  
Finishing Diets ◽  
Ruminal Ph ◽  
Penn State ◽  
Dietary Treatments ◽  
Particle Separator ◽  
Finishing Beef Cattle ◽  
Different Sources

Abstract Research is limited on how physically effective fiber from various roughage sources aids in rumination time and ruminal pH of finishing beef cattle. This experiment’s objective was to evaluate rumination time and ruminal pH of beef steers consuming finishing diets with varying roughage sources (corn stalks, cotton burrs, or wheat silage). We hypothesized that roughage type would not impact rumination time and ruminal pH if different sources provide similar dietary neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Ruminally cannulated steers (n = 6; average BW = 644.56 + 13.15 kg) were used in a 3 × 3 replicated Latin square with 3 dietary treatments and 3, 21-d periods (20-d diet adaptation, 1-d sampling). Steers consumed a steam-flaked corn-based finishing diet containing corn stalks (CS), cotton burrs (CB), or wheat silage (WS) included at 7% (DM basis) of the diet. Dietary NDF was similar across treatments. Steers were fitted with a sensory collar to record daily rumination (Allflex Livestock Intelligence). Ruminal pH was measured using a handheld pH probe on d-21 at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24 hr postprandial. The NDF and dry matter intake (DMI) were greatest for steers consuming the WS diet (P < 0.01) while CS and CB diets did not differ (P = 0.81). While dietary NDF and estimated physically effective NDF (peNDF) were similar among roughage sources, CB had the lowest actual peNDF, consistent with lower rumination time (P < 0.01) and lower ruminal pH (P = 0.29). This experiment’s results indicate that roughage source impacted rumination time despite feeding steers a steam-flaked corn-based finishing diet with similar roughage and NDF levels. Using rumination time (min/d) to determine peNDF was a better indicator of rumen function parameters than particle size measured via the Penn State Particle Separator equation.

PSX-B-5 Effect of replacement of dry-rolled corn with un-processed rye on growth performance, efficiency of dietary net energy utilization, and carcass traits of finishing heifers

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 458-459
Author(s):  
Keith M Buckhaus ◽  
Warren C Rusche ◽  
Zachary K Smith
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Growth Performance ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Estradiol Benzoate ◽  
Energy Utilization ◽  
Net Energy ◽  
Final Body Weight ◽  
Trenbolone Acetate ◽  
Finishing Diets

Abstract Continental × British beef heifers were used in a randomized complete block design experiment to evaluate the effects of replacing dry-rolled corn with unprocessed rye on growth performance, efficiency of dietary net energy (NE) utilization, and carcass trait responses in finishing heifers. Heifers (n = 56; 433 ± 34.0 kg) were transported 241 km from a regional sale barn to the Ruminant Nutrition Center in Brookings, SD. Heifers were blocked by weight grouping and then allotted to pens (n = 7 heifers/pen and 4 pens/treatment). Treatments included a finishing diet that contained 60% grain (DM basis) as dry-rolled corn (DRC) or unprocessed rye grain (RYE). On d 14, heifers were consuming the final diet and were implanted with 200 mg of trenbolone acetate and 28 mg of estradiol benzoate (Synovex-Plus, Zoetis, Parsippany, NJ). RYE heifers had decreased (P ≤ 0.01) final body weight, average daily gain, and gain efficiency; but tended (P = 0.08) to have a greater dry matter intake compared to DRC. RYE had decreased (P ≤ 0.01) observed dietary NE and decreased (P ≤ 0.01) observed-to-expected dietary NE ratio for maintenance and gain compared to DRC. Dressing percentage, 12th rib fat thickness, ribeye area, and the distribution of USDA yield and quality grades were not altered (P ≥ 0.12) by diet. Hot carcass weight, yield grade, estimated empty body fat (EBF), and body weight at 28% EBF decreased (P ≤ 0.02) and retail yield increased (P= 0.01) in RYE compared to DRC. These data indicate that unprocessed rye is a palatable feed ingredient for inclusion in finishing diets for beef cattle and that rye inclusion only minimally influences carcass quality. The feeding value of unprocessed rye is considerably less (21.4%) than that of dry-rolled corn using current standards and approximately 91% of the NE value of processed rye.

scholarly journals PSX-36 Effect of forage neutral digestion fiber level for feedlot lambs: growth performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 451-451
Author(s):  
Josue Godinez ◽  
Alejandro Plascencia ◽  
Francisco Castrejón-Pineda ◽  
Juan Carlos Ramírez-Orejel ◽  
Luis Corona
Keyword(s):  
Growth Performance ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽  
Energy Utilization ◽  
Net Energy ◽  
Finishing Diets ◽  
Feedlot Lambs ◽  
Sheep Production ◽  
Daily Gain

Abstract The main objective of sheep production in Mexico is the production of meat. The greater demand of sheep meat in relation to the offer generated an attractive market that favored the intensification of the fattening, to take advantage of the growth of lambs in its different stages, and reduce the days of fattening. Thirty-two lambs (28.50± 2.67 kg initial shrunk weight) were used in a 63-day feeding trial (4 pens per treatment, randomized complete block design) to evaluate neutral detergent fiber level (4, 8, 12, and 16% diet DM) on finishing-phase growth performance, dietary energetics and carcass traits. Dietary treatments consisted of a cracked corn-based diet in which the NDF concentration of diet was manipulated by replacing cracked corn grain by corn stubble. Dietary NDF level showed a quadratic response on average daily gain and gain efficiency, being those maximal at 8% NDF level. Lambs fed 8% NDF level tended (P = 0.07) to shown greater dry matter intake than others treatments. The ratio of observed-to-expected dietary net energy was 3% lower (0.97) for lambs fed 4% NDF, while the ratio of observed-to-expected dietary net energy for lambs that were fed with 8, 16 and 16% NDF were closely to 1.00. Hot carcass weight (HCW) and dressing percentage (DP) were maximal for the lambs fed 8% NDF level (quadratic effect, P ≤ 0.03); beyond this level, HCW and DP percentage decreased as NDF level increased. Using corn stubble as source of NDF in growing-finishing diets for lambs, the optimal NDF level was 8%. Fiber level below 8% decreases net energy utilization, and this may be cause by digestive disorders. Fiber levels upper 8% did not affect energy utilization; however, affect negatively average daily gain, feed efficiency and carcass characteristics by effect of high levels of fiber on energy dilution of diet.

scholarly journals PSXIV-17 Effects of corn bran plus solubles and corn oil on growth performance and carcass traits of finishing bulls

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 436-437
Author(s):  
Arquimedes Lima Junior ◽  
Murillo A Meschiatti ◽  
Vinicius N Gouvêa ◽  
Victor Dantas ◽  
Daniel Silva Antonelo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Growth Performance ◽  
Feed Efficiency ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Corn Oil ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Carcass Traits ◽  
Dry Matter Intake ◽  
Final Body Weight ◽  
Finishing Diets

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth performance and carcass traits of finishing bulls fed diets containing, on dietary dry matter basis, different levels of corn wet distillers bran plus solubles (WDBS; 0, 15, 30 or 45%) added with or without corn oil (CO; 0 and 3%). A total of 205 Nellore bulls (390 ± 25 kg initial BW) were blocked by initial body weight, distributed in 40 pens and pens within weight block were randomly assigned to treatments in a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement. Diets were isonitrogenous and contained 8.5% sugarcane bagasse and 91.5% concentrate (ground corn, soybean meal, pelleted citrus pulp, urea, mineral). The WDBS (FlexyDDG®) and the corn oil were from SJC Bioenergia (Quirinópolis, Goiás, Brazil). Data were analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS. An interaction between CO × WDBS levels was observed for dry matter intake (DMI; P = 0.032). In diets without CO, increasing levels of WDBS linearly (P = 0.004) reduced the DMI, but in diets containing 3% CO, increasing levels of WDBS quadraticaly affected the DMI (P = 0.002). No effects of CO, WDBSF levels or CO × WDBS levels were observed for final body weight, average daily gain, hot carcass weight and dressing percentage. Feed efficiency tended (P = 0.07) to be greater for bulls fed diets containing CO (0.154 vs. 0.144). Increasing levels of WDBS tended (P = 0.09) to increase the feed efficiency. In summary, increasing levels of WDBS in finishing diets linearly (in diets without CO) or quadratically (in diets with CO) reduces the dry matter intake. Adding CO and WDBS tend to increase feed efficiency.

scholarly journals The Inclusion of Black Cumin Meal Improves Growth Performance of Growing Awassi Lambs

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Belal S. Obeidat
Keyword(s):  
Growth Performance ◽  
Nigella Sativa ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Nutrient Digestibility ◽  
Metabolizable Energy ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽  
Black Cumin ◽  
Daily Body Weight ◽  
Dietary Treatments ◽  
Awassi Lambs

Twenty-four Awassi lambs were randomly divided into two dietary treatments to assess the influence of black cumin meal (BCM; Nigella sativa L.) feeding on growth performance. Diets were no BCM (CON) or 150 g BCM/kg DM (BCM150)). Lambs were fed the experimental diets for 80 days. Lambs were housed randomly in individual pens that were fitted with water and feed containers. During the study, nutrient intake was measured daily. Body weight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG) were evaluated biweekly. Nutrient digestibility and nitrogen (N) balance were evaluated on days 49–59. Intakes of dry matter, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), ether extract (EE) and metabolizable energy were greater (p ≤ 0.05) in the BCM150 diet than in the CON diet. The digestibility of DM, CP and EE (p ≤ 0.04) was improved in the BCM150 diet compared to the CON diet. However, NDF and ADF digestibility did not differ between the two diets. Nitrogen retained (g/d; p = 0.01) and N retention (%; p = 0.05) was greater in the BCM150 compared with CON diet. Final BW, ADG, and feed efficiency (DM intake: kg of gain) was greater (p ≤ 0.002) in BCM150 lambs than the CON lambs. However, cost/kg of BW gain was lower in the BCM150 diet than in the CON diet. In conclusion, the inclusion of black cumin meal improved the growth performance and profits in diets of growing lambs. Therefore, it could be used as an alternative to soybean meal and barley as a protein and energy supplement, respectively.

Dietary supplementation of ferulic acid improves performance and alleviates oxidative stress of lambs in a cold environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 705-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Wang ◽  
Wenwen Wang ◽  
Ruifang Wang ◽  
Ziqi Meng ◽  
Yuanxiao Duan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Ferulic Acid ◽  
Growth Performance ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Dietary Supplementation ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽  
Cold Environment ◽  
Plasma Glutathione Peroxidase ◽  
Mda Content ◽  
Dietary Treatments

Ferulic acid (FA) has been regarded as an antioxidant in domestic animals’ feed. This study was to investigate whether dietary FA supplementation could improve growth performance by decreasing oxidative stress of lambs in cold environment. Thirty-two 3-mo-old crossbred male lambs (Dorper × Small-tail Han sheep; 30.49 ± 0.46 kg) were randomly assigned into one of the following dietary treatments: CON (control, no FA), FA80 (80 mg FA kg−1of diet), FA400 (400 mg FA kg−1of diet), and FA2000 (2000 mg FA kg−1of diet). Lambs fed the FA80 had higher (P < 0.05) average daily gain and lower (P < 0.05) feed efficiency than those fed CON and FA2000. The dry matter, organic matter, and neutral detergent fiber apparent digestibility was lower (P < 0.05) for FA2000 lambs than for lambs from other treatments. Serum total protein and albumin concentrations were greater (P < 0.05) for FA80 group than other groups. Lambs fed FA80 had higher (P < 0.05) plasma glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities and lower (P < 0.05) malondialdehyde (MDA) content than lambs fed CON. However, FA2000 group showed higher (P < 0.05) plasma MDA content than CON group. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of 80 mg FA kg−1diet could improve growth performance by decreasing oxidative stress of lambs in cold environment.

scholarly journals Impact of Fermented Liquid Potato Hash Diets on Growth Performance of Grower Pigs

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Sylvester Thomas ◽  
Arnold Tapera Kanengoni ◽  
Michael Chimonyo
Keyword(s):  
Growth Performance ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Feed Conversion ◽  
Exogenous Enzyme ◽  
Randomized Design ◽  
Inclusion Rate ◽  
Feed Source ◽  
Dietary Treatments ◽  
Daily Gain

The study aimed to evaluate growth performance of grower pigs fed fermented liquid potato hash with or without exogenous enzyme. Diets containing either 200 (LFLPH) g/kg potato hash (enzyme treated or not); 400 (HFLPH) g/kg potato hash (enzyme treated or not) or no fermented potato hash (control) were formulated to provide 14 MJ/kg digestible energy (DE), 180 g/kg crude protein (CP) and 11.6 g/kg lysine. Dietary treatments were control (no FLPH), enzyme treated LFPHE and HFLPHE, and untreated LFLPH and HFLPH. The exogenous enzyme was added in treated diets to provide minimum of 560-840 TXU/TDU xylanase per kg feed, at an inclusion rate of 100 g/tonne. Diets were mixed with water at 1:2 ration and fermented for 8 hours at 25 °C room temperature before being fed to pigs. Back-slopping fermentation approach was followed to prepare diets. Twelve pigs (25±2.3 kg) per diet that were individually housed were fed ad-lib for eight weeks. Pigs were allocated to diets in complete randomized design. Average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured. The enzyme treated FLPH diets had higher (P < 0.05) CP, lower (P > 0.05) NDF and ADF concentrations compared to untreated FLPH diets. The LFPHE diet had higher (P < 0.001) final weight, ADG and lower (P < 0.001) ADFI and FCR compared to LFPH, HLFPH and HLFPHE. It was concluded that LFPHE diet may be an alternative feed source for growing pigs as indicated by higher gain and lower intake compared to LFLPH, HFLPH and HFLPHE.

Advanced Chelate Technology Based Trace Minerals Improve Growth Performance, Mineral Digestibility, Tibia Characteristics, and Antioxidant Status in Broiler Chickens

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Ali Ghasemi ◽  
Iman Hajkhodadadi ◽  
Maryam Hafizi ◽  
Kamran Taherpour ◽  
Mohammad Hassan Nazaran
Keyword(s):  
Growth Performance ◽  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Antioxidant Status ◽  
Bone Mineralization ◽  
Control Diet ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Trace Minerals ◽  
Randomized Design ◽  
Total Antioxidant ◽  
Dietary Treatments

Abstract Background: Compared to the corresponding source of inorganic trace minerals (TM), chelated supplements are characterized by better physical heterogeneity and chemical stability and appear to be better absorbed in the gut due to possibly decreased interaction with other feed components. This study was designed in broiler chickens to determine the effects of replacing inorganic trace minerals (TM) with an advanced chelate technology based supplement (Bonzachicken) on growth performance, mineral digestibility, tibia bone quality, and antioxidant status. A total of 625 male 1-d-old broiler chickens were allocated to 25 pens and assigned to 5 dietary treatments in a completely randomized design. Chelated TM (CTM) supplement was compared at 3 levels to no TM (NTM) or inorganic TM. A corn–soy-based control diet was supplemented with inorganic TM at the commercially recommended levels (ITM), i.e., iron, zinc, manganese, copper, selenium, iodine, and chromium at 80, 92, 100, 16, 0.3, 1.2, and 0.1 mg/kg, respectively, and varying concentration of CTM, i.e., match to 25, 50, and 100 % of the ITM (diets CTM25, CTM50, and CTM100, respectively). Results: All diets, except diet CTM25, increased average daily gain (ADG), European performance index (EPI), and serum total antioxidant capacity compared to the NTM diet (P < 0.05). Broilers fed the CTM100 diet had lowest overall FCR and highest BWG, EPI, tibia ash, zinc, and manganese contents (P < 0.05). The tibia phosphorus content and apparent ileal digestibilities of phosphorus, zinc, and manganese were lower in the ITM group compared with the CTM50 and CTM100 groups (P < 0.05). Broiler chickens fed any of the diets exhibited higher serum glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities and lower malondialdehyde level than those fed the NTM diet, where the best values were found for CTM100 treatment (P < 0.05). Conclusions: These results indicate that while CTM supplementation to 25 and 50% of the commercially recommended levels could support growth performance, a totally replacing ITM by equivalent levels of CTM could also improve growth performance, bone mineralization and antioxidant status of broiler chickens under the conditions of this study.

scholarly journals Nutritional evaluation of different varieties of sorghum and the effects on nursery pig growth performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori L Thomas ◽  
Charmaine D Espinosa ◽  
Robert D Goodband ◽  
Hans H Stein ◽  
Mike D Tokach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Performance ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Metabolizable Energy ◽  
Final Body Weight ◽  
Ileal Digestibility ◽  
High Lysine ◽  
Microbial Phytase ◽  
Nursery Pig ◽  
Dietary Treatments ◽  
Daily Gain

Abstract Five experiments were conducted to determine the standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of P, digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME), and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in three sorghum varieties compared with corn and to determine the effects of sorghum varieties on nursery pig growth. In exp. 1, 48 barrows (initially 18.6 kg) were housed individually in metabolism crates. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 4 factorial evaluating two levels of microbial phytase (0 or 500 units/kg) and four grain sources (corn, high-lysine, red, or white sorghum). Added phytase improved (P &lt; 0.05) STTD of P in all ingredients, but was not different among the grains. In exp. 2, the DE and ME in the three sorghum varieties were not different from corn. In exp. 3, 10 growing barrows (initially 25.9 kg) with a T-cannula in the terminal ileum were used. Standardized ileal digestible Lys, Met, Thr, and Val were greater (P &lt; 0.05) in corn than in the sorghum-based diets with no differences among the sorghum varieties. In exp. 4, 160 pigs (initially 6.3 kg) were randomly allotted to one of four dietary treatments with five pigs per pen and eight replicate pens per treatment in a 20-d experiment. Dietary treatments included corn or the three sorghum varieties, where the varieties of sorghum replaced corn on an SID Lys basis. No differences among treatments were observed in any growth performance parameters. In exp. 5, treatments consisted of a corn-based diet, a diet based on conventional sorghum (a mixture of red and white sorghum), and four diets with high-lysine sorghum containing increasing amounts of feed-grade AA, replacing soybean meal. Overall, pigs fed the high-lysine sorghum diet with the greatest amount of added feed-grade AA had the poorest gain:feed ratio (G:F; P &lt; 0.05) compared with pigs fed all the other experimental diets. Within those fed the high-lysine sorghum and feed-grade AA, average daily gain, final body weight (linear, P &lt; 0.10), and G:F (linear, P &lt; 0.01) decreased as feed-grade AA increased. In summary, no differences in STTD of P or in DE and ME were observed among the grain sources. The SID AA values for the three sorghum varieties were not different; however, they were all lower than for corn. These results indicate that these varieties of sorghum can successfully replace corn in nursery pig diets if diets are formulated to account for differences in AA digestibility.

scholarly journals Effect of Physical Form and Level of Wheat Straw Inclusion on Growth Performance and Blood Metabolites of Fattening Goat

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1861
Author(s):  
Muhammad I. Malik ◽  
Muhammad A. Rashid ◽  
Muhammad S. Yousaf ◽  
Saima Naveed ◽  
Khalid Javed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Performance ◽  
Wheat Straw ◽  
Hematological Parameters ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽  
Blood Metabolites ◽  
Ruminal Acidosis ◽  
Physical Form ◽  
Dietary Treatments ◽  
Daily Gain

The inclusion of straw in high concentrate total mixed rations (TMRs) of male fattening goats can provide the necessary fiber to prevent ruminal acidosis and maintain growth. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the physical form (PF) of the diet (pelleted vs. conventional) and the straw level (SL) of wheat straw (WS) (15% versus 25%) in total mixed rations on feed intake, growth, total tract digestibility, and blood metabolites of fattening goats. Thirty-two male Beetal goats (27.4 ± 0.28 kg body weight (BW)) were divided randomly into the following four dietary treatments with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement (n = 8/treatment): (1) CTMR15 (conventional TMR containing 15% WS), (2) CTMR25 (conventional TMR containing 25% WS), (3) PTMR15 (pelleted TMR containing 15% WS), and (4) PTMR25 (pelleted TMR containing 25% WS). Both conventional and pelleted 15% WS TMR had 33.7% neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and 19.3% acid detergent fiber (ADF), whereas in 25% WS TMR the NDF and ADF contents were 38.7% and 22.9%, respectively. The experimental diets were formulated to be iso-nitrogenous (crude protein (CP) = 15%). The dry matter intake (DMI) (1.265 vs. 1.044 kg/day) and average daily gain (ADG) (0.176 vs. 0.143 kg/day) were higher (p < 0.05) in pelleted vs. conventional TMR-fed goats. Irrespective of the PF of the TMR, the 15% WS-fed animals had greater (p < 0.05) DMI (1.206 vs. 1.102 kg/day) and ADG (0.172 vs. 0.144 kg) when compared to those fed on 25% WS diets. Furthermore, feed-to-gain ratio (F:G) was higher (p < 0.05) in the 25% WS-fed goats when compared with the 15% WS-fed animals. Digestibility coefficients, nitrogen balancing, hepatic enzymes, blood metabolites, and hematological parameters were similar (p > 0.05) across all treatments. In conclusion, feeding pelleted TMR with WS improved DMI and growth performance as compared to those fed conventional TMR, and 15% WS performed better than 25% WS without exerting any adverse effects on blood metabolites, liver enzymes, or hematological parameters.

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