Effects of form of olive cake (OC) on growth performances and carcass quality were studied on forty-eight Awassi lambs. All lambs were male with an average body weight of 29.5 kg (S.D. = 2.3 kg) at the beginning of the experiment. Animals were randomly divided into four groups of 12 lambs each. Lambs in each group received individually corn–soybean meal (SBM) total mixed rations (TMRs). Rations were incorporated with a fixed amount (149 g/kg DM) of OC of different forms: crude OC, a product of the three centrifugation extraction procedure (control group), alkali treated, ensiled and pelleted. All rations were isonitrogenous and isocaloric. The growth experiment lasted 10 weeks. In the following week, all lambs were slaughtered. At termination of the experiment, lambs fed crude, alkali treated or ensiled OC rations consumed more feed and gained more weight (P<0.05) than those fed the pelleted OC. This same trend was found for the feed conversion (FC), carcass and empty body weights (EBWs). However, external (hide, head and feet, HHF) and thoracic organs (heart and lungs, HL), gut and liver weights proportional to EBW (g/kg) were not affected by the form of OC. The form of OC had no effects on muscle (P=0.4) and bone (P=0.21) tissues. Carcass, pelvic, kidney fats and total carcass fats weights when expressed as g/kg EBW and the percent of carcass fat of total body fat (TBF) were lower in lambs fed the pelleted OC compared to those offered the other forms of OC. However, the subcutaneous, inter muscular and TBF fats weights (g/kg) were comparable among lambs in different OC form rations. Results from this work suggest that the treated OC had no advantages compared to crude in regard to parameters investigated in this research.
The current investigation was conducted to study the effects of olive pulp on the carcass composition, gastrointestinal tract, and visceral organ mass of broiler chicks. A total of 250 one-day-old chicks were used in this research and were divided into five experimental groups with five replicates in each. Olive pulp was incorporated in four of the experimental groups at rates of 25, 50, 75 and 100 g/kg in both starter and finisher feeds to replace similar amounts of maize. Diets were fed for 35 days. At the end of the experiment, four birds of each group were slaughtered in similar routine followed in regular slaughterhouses. Regression analysis (linear and quadratic) showed that level of olive pulp had no significant effects on visceral organ mass, gastrointestinal tract weight, carcass cuts, carcass composition, and dressing percent. However, chicks consuming 100 g olive pulp/kg had heaviest (P<0.05) average live weights.