Thirty six 7/8 Ile de France 1/8 Polwarth (18 males and 18 females) lambs averaging 17.90 ± 1.27 kg of body weigh (BW) were randomly assigned to one of the following three diets: 1) control diet; 2) SRPAD - 8% freshwater fish (Oreochromis niloticus) residue silage; or 3) SRPAM - 8% sea fish (Lophius gastrophisus) residue silage. The fish residue silages partially replaced soybean meal in the diet; corn silage (40% DM basis) was used as the sole forage source. Animals were feed-restricted and maintained in individual stalls; lambs were weighted every 14 days until they reached 32 kg of BW when biometrical measurements were taken. Twelve 7/8 Ile de France 1/8 Polwarth female lambs were used for determination of nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance. Dry matter intake and average daily weight were not affected by diet and gender averaging 891.83 and 240.26 g/day, respectively. However, lambs that received SRPAM had greater feed conversion (4.04) than those fed the control diet (3.81) and SRPAD (3.47). Male lambs showed greater body length (60.09 cm) and forelimb height (56.11 cm) than the female counterparts. Intake and digestibility (90.39%) of EE was highest in lambs fed SRPAD while NDF digestibility (59.20%) was lowest in those fed the control diet. It can be concluded that fish residue silage can partially replace soybean meal in the diet.
digestibility; fish residue; sheep; weight gain
