Investigation of the impact of incorporating vitamin E and rosemary leaf powder into the feed on the carcass characteristics and growth performance of Awassi sheep
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56286/NTU-JAVS.2026.6.1.45-50Abstract
This research was conducted in the fields of the College of Agriculture and Forestry/University of Mosul to study the effect of adding rosemary leaf powder and vitamin E to the feed on growth performance and carcass traits. 24 Awassi lambs were used at the age of 3-4 months and with an average weight of 21.75 kg. The lambs were fed throughout the experimental period on a standard feed consisting of concentrated feed and hay for a period of 90 days. After the preliminary period (14 days), the lambs were divided into four homogeneous treatments by weight. The first treatment was treated without adding any vitamin E, the second treatment was treated with 10 g/kg feed of rosemary leaf powder, the third treatment was treated with 300 mg/animal/day of vitamin E, and the fourth treatment was treated with 10 g/kg feed of rosemary leaf powder and 300 mg/animal/day of vitamin E for the duration of the experiment. The results showed that the best feed conversion efficiency was for the second and third treatments, and significant differences (p?0.05) were observed in body weight at the sixth, tenth and twelfth weeks and final weight in favor of the second and third treatments. As for carcass traits, the third treatment was significantly superior (p?0.005) in carcass width at the shoulders, kidney fat and heart fat, while no significant differences were observed in the remaining traits.
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