Oral administration of lactate producing bacteria alone or combined withSaccharomyces cerevisiaeandMegasphaera elsdeniion performance of fattening lambs

To investigate the effect of direct fed microbial (DFM) on performance of fattening lamb, 4 treatments (7 animals/treatment) were evaluated; (1) control (without additive; CON); (2) Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus plantarum (FP); (3) Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) plus FP (SCFP) and (4) Megasphaera elsdenii plus SCFP (MSCFP). Feed intake, final body and feed efficiency except average daily gain were not affected by experimental treatment. Digestibility of dry matter and organic matter increased (P < 0.05) in MSCFP lambs versus other treatments. The highest (P < 0.05) amount of N intake, absorbed N and N retention were observed in MSCFP lambs. Blood parameters and enzymatic profiles were not affected (P > 0.05) by the treatments. The lowest and the highest of minimum pH were observed in CON and SCFP lambs. Moreover, concentration of ammonia-N, total and individual volatile fatty acids (except acetate and butyrate concentration) and acetate to propionate ratio were not affected (P > 0.05) by treatment. According to the results, the use of microbial feed additives had a positive effect on growth performance and some digestive and ruminal fermentation parameters.