Sugarcane silage added with detoxified castor bean meal in the diet of confined lambs

This study evaluated the effects of increasing levels of detoxified castor bean meal (DCM) in sugarcane silage on intake, digestibility, blood parameters, ingestive behaviour, performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of confined lambs. Forty male Santa Inês lambs, non-castrated, with an initial weight of 17.4 ± 2.2 kg and an age of 150 days, were used. Treatments consisted of 0 (Control), 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, and 20 % DCM in natural silage matter. The sheep were confined in individual stalls for 70 days and received the diets in the form of a complete mixture with a forage: concentrate ratio of 60:40. Including DCM in sugarcane silage increased (P < 0.05) the intake and digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein, and non-fibrous carbohydrates, increased (P < 0.05) DM ingestion and rumination efficiency, decreased (P < 0.05) the serum levels of urea, increased (P < 0.05) the serum levels of glucose of lambs and increased (P < 0.05) empty body weight, mean daily gain, cold carcass weight, the weight of the commercial carcass cuts and the weights of the leg muscle, fat and bone. The moisture content and luminosity (L*) of the meat decreased (P < 0.05), whereas the red content (a*) and shear force of the meat responded quadratically (P < 0.05) to the inclusion of DCM in the sugarcane silage. It is recommended to include up to 20 % detoxified castor bean meal in sugarcane silage to improve lamb performance and carcass characteristics.