Growth performance and carcass characteristics of ram lambs fed concentrate mixture containing varying levels of guava waste meal

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding concentrate mixture containing varying levels of guava waste meal (GWM) on growth performance and carcass characteristics in ram lambs. Eighteen ram lambs were divided into three equal groups of six each and were allotted to one of the dietary treatments (T₁, T₂, T₃) and fed green fodder viz., super napier and concentrate mixture (20% CP) containing GWM at 0 (T₁), 10 (T₂) and 20% (T₃). The body weight gain and average daily gain were higher (P<0.05) in T₂ compared to other treatments, while the feed cost per kg weight gain decreased (P<0.05) by ‘ 18.48 in T₂ compared to T₁ with non-significant differences between T₁ and T₃. Further, improved (P<0.05) feed efficiency was observed in T₂ with no differences (P>0.05) between T₁ and T₃. Feeding if GWM had no effect (P>0.05) on various carcass parameters, except for dressing percentage on empty body weight. No significant differences were observed in the proportion of wholesale cuts (% carcass weight), yield of visceral organs (% of pre-slaughter weight) and chemical composition (%) of Longissimus dorsi muscle among the different dietary treatments. It was concluded that GWM can be included up to 10 % in the concentrate mixture for improved body weight gain, feed efficiency and economical meat production in ram lambs.