Addition of sardinella longiceps oil in the form of Ca-soap into the Ration: 1. Its effects on sheep performance

Abstract

Since the use of fat more than 5% in ruminant diets would disturb fermentation process in the rumen, the use of fat more than 5% must be protected. The calcium soap is one form of protected fat. The objective of this research was to study the effect of calcium soap in the diets on performance of sheep. Sixteen sheep were used and divided into four groups consisted of four animals in each group. The sheep were allocated in a Randomized Block Design. The treatment diets were, R0: control diet, R1: R0 + 1.5% calcium soap, R2: R0 + 3% calcium soap and R3: R0 + 4.5% calcium soap. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and any signifi cant differences were further tested using contrast orthogonal. The results showed that the treatments signifi cantly (P<0.05) decreased daily gain, dry matter, energy and protein intake, but feed conversion ratio and water intake were not signifi cantly affected.