The Use of Additives to Prevent Urolithiasis in Lambs Fed Diets with a High Proportion of Concentrate

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different additives in preventing urolithiasis in lambs fed a diet rich in concentrate and their impact on performance and blood and urinary parameters. Thirty-two noncastrated male lambs, crossbred Dorper × Santa Inês, with initial body weights (BWs...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Vicente Luiz Macêdo Buarque, Helena Viel Alves Bezerra, Guilherme Pegoraro Rissi, Regner Ítalo Gonçalves de Oliveira, Natália Marques da Silva, Nara Regina Brandão Cônsolo, Germán Darío Ramírez-Zamudio, Ricardo de Francisco Strefezzi, Sarita Bonagurio Gallo, Saulo Luz Silva, Paulo Roberto Leme
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-10-01
Series:Veterinary Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/10/10/617
Description
Summary:This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different additives in preventing urolithiasis in lambs fed a diet rich in concentrate and their impact on performance and blood and urinary parameters. Thirty-two noncastrated male lambs, crossbred Dorper × Santa Inês, with initial body weights (BWs) of 23 ± 0.1 kg and ages of 50 ± 5 days, were kept in individual pens and fed a diet composed of 6% <i>Cynodon</i> ssp. hay and 94% concentrate and subjected to four treatments: CON without inclusion of additives, addition of ACL 5 g/kg of dry matter (DM), addition of CCL 6.3 g/kg of DM, and addition of BZA 5 g/kg of DM. There was no effect of treatment or interaction with time on blood parameters (<i>p</i> > 0.050), and performance characteristics, morphometry of ruminal papillae, and scores of cecum and rumen lesions were not affected by the addition of additives to the diet (<i>p</i> > 0.050). Greater urinary acidification was observed in animals from CCL and ACL treatments (<i>p</i> = 0.033). Calcium chloride acidified the urinary pH and can be used instead of ammonium chloride at a concentration of 0.63% based on DM, when this is the objective.
ISSN:2306-7381