The effects of pomegranate seed oil in the diet on digestibility, ruminal fermentation parameters and performance of fattening lambs

This study was conducted to determine the effects of addition of the pomegranate seed oil (PSO) in the diet on growth performance, diet digestibility and rumen fermentation parameters of fattening lambs. Twenty one Sanjabi lambs, with average body weight of 27.5±2.6 kg and 3 months of age, were used in a completely randomized design with 3 treatments and 7 replicates.The experimental treatments included diet free of PSO (control diet), and diets containing 2 and 4% of PSO. Daily feed intake, diet digestibility and rumen fermentation parameters were measured by standard methods. The lambs were weighed at the beginning and the end of the finishing period for estimation of average daily gain (ADG). The DMI in the lambs fed on the diets containing PSO was higher than that of control (P