The Effect of Different Levels of Household Waste in the Diet on Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Blood Metabolitesand Rumen Parameters of Fattening Lambs

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

Yadollāh Chashnidel ¹

Sadegh Pournaderi ¹

Esa Damavandi ²

Maziyar Majdzade ¹

¹ Faculty of Animal Science, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran

² Parto Gostaran Sanat Damavand Company, Iran

10.22067/ijasr.2025.94998.1269

Abstract

Introduction: Large quantities of household food waste have the potential to be used as livestock feed, thereby supporting sustainable food production systems. Numerous studies have documented the effects of food waste on animal performance; however, due to regional variations in the composition of household food waste, its nutritional impacts must be evaluated under specific local conditions. This study was conducted to investigate the nutritional effects of household waste in northern Iran on fattening performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation characteristics, and blood parameters in crossbred male Zel lambs.
Materials and Methods: Twenty crossbred male lambs (3–4 months old; mean body weight 25 ± 1.5 kg) were randomly assigned to a completely randomized design with four treatments and five replicates per treatment for 70 days. The treatments consisted of dietary inclusion levels of household food waste at 0, 20, 40, and 60%. The total mixed ration (TMR) was formulated using SRNS software. The ratio of forage to concentrate on experimental diets was 30:70, and different levels of household food waste replaced edible items in the concentrate part of the diet. Household food waste, which was a mixture of pasta, rice, legumes, eggs, fruit peels, chicken bones, mixed salad and various vegetables, was collected by school students. Daily food waste samples were analyzed to determine chemical compositions during the collection period. Given that chemical composition varied daily, their averages were used to formulate the diet. The lambs were fed individually and had free access to clean water throughout the period. Dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded. To determine the concentration of blood parameters (glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen and total protein), blood sampling was performed once at the end of the experimental period, one hour before the morning feeding. Rumen fluid sampling was performed in the last week of the experimental period, 3 hours after morning feed consumption using an esophageal catheter, and rumen volatile fatty acids (VFAs: acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid and isovaleric acid) were measured. Nutrient digestibility was determined by the acid-insoluble ash method. Data was analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS software (version 9.1). Treatment means were compared using Duncan’s multiple range test at a significance level of P < 0.05.
Results and Discussion: The chemical composition analysis of household food waste showed that the average dry matter content was 89.4%. The mean crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), ash, and non‑fiber carbohydrates (NFC) were 19.56, 11.91, 25.96, 17.75, 11.43, and 27.14% of dry matter, respectively.With increasing level of food waste in the diet, final body weight decreased (P < 0.0001), dry matter intake (P = 0.0004) and feed conversion ratio (P < 0.0001) increased significantly. Also, with increasing level of household food waste in the diet, the apparent digestibility of dry matter (P = 0.0020), organic matter (P = 0.0006), and ether extract (P = 0.0001) decreased significantly compared to the control group. In contrast, increasing the dietary level of household food waste significantly increased the digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (P < 0.0001) and acid detergent fiber (P = 0.0030) compared with the control group. Concentrations of glucose, blood urea nitrogen, total protein and triglycerides were not affected by the treatments. Higher levels of food waste increased serum cholesterol concentration (P = 0.0020). Dietary inclusion levels of 40 and 60 % household food waste significantly decreased ruminal pH (P = 0.0470) and increased total volatile fatty acids (P = 0.0249) and total protozoa populations (P = 0.0070). Also, the 60% dietary inclusion level of household waste caused a significant increase in isovaleric acid in the rumen fluid (P = 0.0024).

Conclusion: The results showed that with increasing household food waste inclusion level, WG and FCR up to a level of 20% were like the control, but higher levels were associated with a significant decrease in WG (with significant linear and quadratic effects, P < 0.05) and an increase in feed intake. These results indicate that excessive amounts of household waste in the diet can lead to negative consequences, while moderate levels may have benefits. Among the evaluated blood parameters, only cholesterol showed significant linear and quadratic increases, while the other parameters were not affected, indicating the metabolic safety of the animals at the recommended inclusion levels. Economic analysis showed that partially replacing conventional feed ingredients with household food waste reduced feed costs per lamb. Therefore, the use of household food waste up to 20% of the diet, as a cheap and sustainable source, can be considered safe and economical, while maintaining the performance and health of fattening lambs, but higher levels require caution in dietary formulation.

Keywords

Blood metabolites

Digestibility

Household waste

Performance

Rumen parameter

Subjects

• Animal Nutrition

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Authors retain the copyright. This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

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