Effect of different levels of Condensed Molasses Soluble (Vinasse) Mixed with Straw on Fattening Performance, Carcass Traits and Meat Chemical Composition in Lori Lambs

Introduction: Concentrated molasses distiller condenses soluble (Vinasse) was one of the by-products of processing industries that can be used in animal feeding.Vinasse has high palatability and is considered a nutritious liquid feed for ruminants. If used in animal diets, it increases forage consumption. Vinasse due to having a high amount of degradable protein in the rumen, it increases the digestibility and increases the consumption of low-protein fiber feeds ( Moeini et al 2008). This feed contains 56% dry matter, 24.4% crude protein, 2% crude fat, 17% neutral detergent insoluble fiber (NDF), 21% starch and 12% sugar (Yarahamdi et al 2011). In order to reduce humidity, solve transportation problems, allow it to be used more easily in animal feeding, better storage for longer and more palatability, it is mixed and dried with straw, and it has a positive effect on the nutritional value of straw(Moeini et al 2014). According to the mentioned materials, the purpose of this research is to use straw mixed with molasses distiller condenses soluble (vinasse) in the sheep diet and replace part of the forage with straw mixed with molasses distiller condenses soluble (vinasse) on growth performance, carcass traits and chemical composition of meat of fattening lambs of Lori breeds.
Materials and methods: Seventy two Lori male lambs were selected with three months of age and average body weight 30±0.52 kg. Wheat straw was added to 700 liters of condenced molasses soluble and air dried. Experimental diets include: 1- control (straw was mixed with the basal diet without any process), 2- 2- Processing and mixing straw with 5% of vinasse, 3- 3- Processing and mixing straw with 10% vinasse, and 4- Processing and mixing straw with 15% vinasse (). Diets were formulated based on the nutritional requirements tables of small ruminants (NRC, 2007) and were prepared as total mixed ration. Average daily gain, final body weight and feed intake were measured and feed conversion ratio was calculated. At the end of experiment, three lambs of each treatment were slaughtered and carcass weight and different parts of carcass were weighted. Carcass characteristics,meat chemical composition were measured and of and cost of each kilogram of weight gain, carcass and lean meat was calculated. Data was analysed in a completely randomized design with four treatments and three replications with 6 lamb in each treatment. Initial body weight of - lambs was considered as a covariate. Data was analyzed by SAS program and mean compared with Tukey test.
Results and discussion: The effect of different levels of vinasse mixed with straw in the diet on the final weight and avarage gain daily (ADG) of lambs was significant. The highest ADG was related to lambs fed with 15% vinasse mixed with straw (239 gr) and the lowest daily weight gain was in lambs fed with control diet (191gr). The effect of different levels of effluent in the ration on the consumed feed was not significant, but the feed conversion coefficient was significant. By increasing the level of vinasse mixed with straw in the diet, the amount of feed consumed in lambs that received higher levels of wastewater decreased and tended to be significant. Due to the higher weight gain in the 15% vinasse mixed with straw (239gr) and the lower feed intake (1428gr), it has made it possible to achieve the appropriate final weight. The effect of different levels of vinasse mixed with straw in the diet on the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significant. In this experiment, the weight of hot and cold carcasses in the control diet was lower than the rest of the treatments and had a significant difference with them. At the same time, with the increase of different vinasse levels, fat-tail weight, fat-tail percentage compared to cold carcass and fat percentage of the whole carcass decreased. Based on this, it can be concluded that the lambs fed with 15% of vinasse had a lower percentage of total carcass fat and total fat compared to other treatments Different levels of vinasse had a significant effect on the amount of dry matter, protein, ether extract and meat ash. Zali et al (2017) reported that in fattening calves, the weight of visceral fat decreased significantly with the increase of vinasse in the diet, and in the diet with 15% of vinasse, there was the lowest carcass fat, which is according to the findings of this research. is Also, Potter et al (1979) and Yalcin et al (2010) observed a significant reduction in carcass internal fat using vinasse. In terms of the economic value of the vinasse 15% treatment of 24.3% the price per kilogram of weight gain was lower than the control and had a higher economic value.According to the mentioned cases, lambs fed vinasse mixed with straw to the level of 15% diet due to higher ADG (239 gr), more suitable FCR (5.97) in terms of fattening status It was preferable to other lambs. Too, in terms of carcass characteristics and composition, vinas treatment with 15% reduced carcass fat percentage (6.81%), increased carcass efficiency (2.58%) and lean meat percentage (6.6%), and finally increased carcass quality.This has made the cost of producing one kilogram of live weight gain per feed consumption lower (24.3) in the treatment of 15% vinasse, and the cost of producing each kilogram of carcass and meat has a good price reduction compared to other treatments.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that incorporating vinasse-straw mixtures into Lori lambs diets significantly enhances fattening performance and carcass quality, with the 15% inclusion level proving most effective. The treatment improved growth rates, feed efficiency, and lean meat yield while reducing undesirable fat deposition. Economically, it lowered production costs, highlighting vinasse as a viable feed supplement. These findings underscore the potential of vinasse-straw blends to optimize lamb production systems sustainably. Further research could explore its long-term impacts and applicability across diverse farming conditions.