Study of chemical composition and nutritive value of cantaloupe silage in in vitro and the effect of feeding on performance of Afshari lambs

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the chemical composition, gas production and also inclusion of cantaloupe plant and its silage in lamb rations. In first experiment, the cantaloupe plant samples were treated with 0.5 or 1% of urea (DM basis) and ensiled in plastic bags. Ensiling cantaloupe plant treated with urea increased its crude protein content (P0.05), but N-ammonia concentration was higher for the urea treated cantaloupe silage (13.5 vs. 10.8 mg/dL) in comparison with the control group (P