Effect of Inclusion of Formaldehyde Treated Mustard Oil Cake in Diets on Performance of Corriedale Lambs

An experiment was conducted on 15 weaned male Corriedale lambs of similar age (3–4 m) and body weight (13.0±0.46 kg) divided into 3 equal groups and fed diets for a period of 90 days to assess the effects of inclusion of formaldehyde treated mustard oil cake in concentrate mixture on growth, nutrient utilization, blood biochemical profiles, wool yield and economics of feedings. The animals were fed to meet their nutrient requirements using either GNC as main protein source (T1- group) or MOC with complete replacement of GNC in T2 and T3 groups while MOC in T3 group was treated with formaldehyde solution. The DCP and TDN values of the rations reduced significantly (P<0.05) with incorporation of MOC replacing GNC in group T2 which was increased with formaldehyde treatment in group T3 with higher feed intake, nitrogen utilization with significant (P<0.05) improvement of feed efficiency in both T1 and T3 groups in comparison to group T2. No significant differences were recorded among groups for blood biochemical constituents though the greasy as well as the clean wool yields in group T1 and T3 were significantly (P<0.05) higher than the group T2. The feed cost per kg body weight gain was lowest in group T3 in comparison to other two groups and the reduction in feed cost in percentage as compared to the control group were 2.91 and 4.61 in group T2 and T3, respectively. The study revealed that high priced GNC could economically be replaced with MOC with or without formaldehyde treatment which is safe and effective for raising lambs for meat and wool production.