Effects of feeding fish–wheat bran meal on performance and meat quality of Omani sheep

Fish wheat bran meal (FWBM) was prepared from ground Indian oil sardines (Sardinella longiceps) using hydrochloric acid and was sun-dried on wheat bran (75:25 w:w). Forty Omani sheep were divided into five groups of eight sheep each and fed with one of five diets for 18 weeks. The diets were formulated from FWBM, soybean meal (SBM), barley, wheat bran, ground date palm leaves, limestone, vitamin and mineral mix, salt and vegetable oil. The objective was to gradually replace soybean with FWBM. The proportions of FWBM in the diet were 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 g/kg, whereas the parallel SBM ranged from 170 to 0 g/kg. Animals were housed in individual pens and daily feed intake and weekly body weights were recorded. Animals were fed with 500 g/d of the concentrates and allowed ad libitum access to hay, water and trace elements. FWBM diets were well consumed by sheep with no negative effects on feed intake, body weight growth or feed conversion. There were also no negative effects on meat quality parameters. The study indicated that FWBM can be used as an excellent protein and energy source for feeding Omani sheep without compromising performance or meat quality.