Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TURKISH JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL SCIENCE, cilt.11, sa.4, ss.1091-1102, 2024 (Hakemli Dergi)
Maize silage is widely used in the nutrition of ruminants worldwide. Nevertheless, maize is expensive and difficult to grow in cold and arid climates. To investigate the effects of feeding pure maize silage and different mixtures of maize and sunflower silages on the fattening performance of lambs. In the study, 40 Kıvırcık male lambs aged 2.5-3 months and with an average live weight of 23-25 kg were used as the animal material. The experiment was carried out for 56 days in a semi-open barn. In accordance with the experimental design, animals were divided into 5 different silage groups (100 maize silage, 75 maize silage+25 sunflower silage, 50 maize silage+50 sunflower silage, 25 maize silage+75 sunflower silage, 100% sunflower silage), so that there would be 8 lambs in each group. The lambs were housed in individual compartments during the experiment and fed individually. Silages were given ad libitum, and additional 700, 900, and 1,400 g concentrated feed was given daily between the 0th and 21st, 21st and 42nd, and 42nd and 56th days, respectively. During the fattening period, the values of live weight, daily live weight gain, feed consumption, and feed conversion ratio were determined. The differences among the live weight values of different silage groups during the trial period were found to be not significant (p>0.05), and the values obtained at the end of 8 weeks varied between 35.94 and 37.44 kg. The silage consumption of lambs fed different silage types showed significant differences (p<0.05) at 0-2 and 6-8 weeks. As a result, it was determined that the substitution of maize silage up to 75% by sunflower silage in the process of lamb fattening did not have any negative effect on fattening performance. Keeping in mind both fattening performance and consumption levels, it can be argued that sunflower silage can be used as a promising alternative to maize silage, especially in regions where winter conditions are harsh, irrigation facilities are limited, there are barren and inefficient lands, or the cost of maize silage production is high.