Effect of calcium propionate and sorghum level on lamb performance

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of calcium propionate and grain level on performance and ruminal variables in 32 finishing Criollo lambs (28.14 +/- 2.34 kg initial BW) over 42 days. A completely randomized design was used with a factorial arrangement of treatments with either 550 or 650 g grain and 0 or log calcium propionate per kg diet. All diets contained corn grain 200 and molasses 100 g/kg diet. Sorghum grain levels were 350 or 450 g/kg diet, replacing corn stover. No differences were observed in intake, gain or feed conversion among treatments. Rib eye area increased with 650 g/kg grain (P < 0.05). Ruminal pH was not affected by treatments. Ruminal acetate concentration decreased with more grain (P < 0.005). It was concluded that Ca propionate could be used to partially replace the energy usually supplied by grain in diets for finishing lambs. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.