Effect of nickel supplementation on growth performance and blood metabolites of growing Muzaffarnagari lambs

The current study was designed to investigate the impact of nickel (Ni) supplementation on growth performance and blood metabolites of growing Muzaffarnagari lambs. Eighteen growing lambs aged 10.3±0.67 months and weight 30.45±3.67 kgwere randomly distributed into 3 groups, with 6 lambs in each. The basal diet was similar in all groups except for Ni supplementation which were fed at rates of 0.0 (N0), 1.5 (N1.5), and 3.0 mg/kg DM (N3.0), respectively. Body weight (BW) and feed consumption (FC) were recorded at fortnightly intervals. The blood was sampled on 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 d of the study period from the jugular vein in EDTA-containing test tubes in the morning (07.30 h) before feeding and watering. Body weight and FC were not influenced by the supplementation of any dose of Ni and were reported statistically similar (P>0.05) in all the groups. The BW gain (BWG) was statistically (P<0.05) higherin 3.0 mg/kg DM Ni fed group as compared to 1.5 mg/kg DM Ni fed and control groups. The BWG was significantly (P<0.05) higher in 3.0 mg Ni/kg DM received group of sheep on all days of the study period. Similarly, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was statistically (P<0.05) lower 3.0 mg/kg DM Ni offered group as compared to the 1.5 mg/kg DM offered and control groups. The glucose, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol did not vary significantly among the groups and remained statistically similar concentrations in all three groups. The results concluded that the growing lambs supplemented with 3.0 mg/kg DM Ni have better growth performance.