Influence of rice Bran oil as defaunating agent on the performance of Mecheri Ram Lambs

The efficiency of unrefined rice bran oil as defaunating agent was evaluated in Mecheri breed of lambs. Twelve lambs were randomly divided into two groups. The animals were defaunated by drenching @ 5ml/kg live weight with rice bran oil at weekly interval from 3 to 6 months of age. The animals that received oil showed higher growth rate and average daily gain over control animals. The blood urea nitrogen level was lower in oil fed lambs indicating better utilization of BUN for growth. Defaunation using unrefined rice bran oil has yielded some beneficial effect over the average daily gain of lambs. However, further study is required to assess the defaunating ability of unrefined rice bran oil when mixed with concentrates under field conditions.