ALFALFA (Medicago sativa L.) CULTIVADA EN CAMPECHE, MÉXICO Y SU INTEGRACIÓN LOCAL EN LA ALIMENTACIÓN DE CORDEROS EN CONFINAMIENTO

Abstract

The use of different diets based on cultivated alfalfa hay (Medicago sativa L.) in Campeche was compared, and its relation with a commercial concentrate and Taiwan grass (Pennisetum purpureum): T1=commercial concentrate, T2=T1+alfalfa hay, T3=T1+Taiwan grass, T4=alfalfa hay. The productive and metabolic behavior of lambs was evaluated in an intensive system using 20 male lambs with crosses of Pelibuey, Dorper and Black Belly of 12.5±1 kg live weight (LW). The consumption of total dry matter (TDM), the daily weight gain (DWG), dietary conversion (DC), and in situ digestibility of the dry matter (ISDDM) were measured. The pH, ammonia nitrogen (NH3) and concentration of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in ruminal liquid were also evaluated. The best DWG in grams per day, of 234 g (p?0.05) was obtained with T2; in contrast, T3 showed the lowest DWG. The diet that included the mixture of alfalfa hay and concentrate improved significantly the conditions of the variables pH, NH3 and VFA (p?0.05).