| Poultry litter is an abundant resource on the Delmarva Peninsula, which includes Delaware, and the Eastern Shores of Maryland and Virginia. Recent environmental regulations have limited the application of poultry litter to land as a fertilizer, so new uses for poultry litter need to be developed. One alternative use of poultry litter is to feed it to ruminants as a non-protein nitrogen source. Research in the beef industry has determined that poultry litter can be effectively utilized as a protein source to replace some of the protein in the animals diets. However, not much information is available about the use of poultry litter in small ruminant diets. Therefore, the objective of this research is to determine if poultry litter can be used as a protein source in feedlot-type diets for weaned goats and sheep. In the first experiment, twenty female and castrated male kids were weaned and placed in an indoor facility to receive one of two diets, either a control diet or poultry litter-based diet (40% poultry litter). Body weights were measured weekly and blood samples were obtained for radioimmunoassay of leptin and to determine concentrations of blood urea nitrogen using a urease colormetric testing kit. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
