EFFECT OF DIRECT-FED MICROBIAL (DFM) ® SUPPLEMENTS ON GENERAL PERFORMANCE OF NEWBORN AWASSI LAMBS

ABSTRACT
Accelerating the onset of weaning of pre-ruminant can be achieved by
enhancing the development of rumen microorganisms using direct fed microbial
(DFM). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding DFM to newborn
Awassi lambs on their performance at different weaning ages (30, 45 and 60 days old).
Forty eight Awassi lambs divided randomly into six groups where each group assigned
to one of the following treatments: control (C) (weaning at 60 days old); T1, 2 doses
DFM (weaning at 30 days old); T2, 2 doses DFM (weaning at 45 days old ); T3, 2
doses DFM (weaning at 60 days old); T4, (weaned at 30 days old) and T5, (weaned at
45 days old). Feed intake, body weight, blood samples, carcass weights and tissues
samples and weight were taken and recorded. Blood samples and tissues were analyzed
for mineral concentrations (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mg, Mn and Co) by using Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer. A significant higher total weight gain were reported for lambs of
T2 (2 doses DFM-45 days weaning age) followed by the control, T1, T3, T4 and T5,
respectively, but no significant differences among all groups was noticed in term of
total feed conversion. The highest dressing percentage was found for lambs of the
control group followed by T1, T2 and T3 and the lowest for lambs from T4 and T5.
Furthermore, no significant effect for treatments on all tissues percentages except
kidney which showed significantly lower weights for all treated groups compared with
the control. The rumen and reticulum weights were higher for all treated groups
compared with control except lambs of T3. A significant effect of treatment, time and
treatment*time were detected for blood serum metabolites and minerals except for 
Copper and Iron. Moreover, no significant effect for treatments on mineral
concentrations in kidney, liver and meat tissues.
In conclusion, using direct fed microbial (DFM) accelerate the early weaning of
newborn lambs (30 and 45 days old) by enhancing rumen microorganisms development
especially for the 45 days weaning age without any negative effect on their growth and
performance compared with weaning at 60 days old.