Mineral mixtures from solid salt residues for lambs

The objective of this study was to evaluate water, mineral, feed and nutrient voluntary intakes, in addition to dry matter and nutrient digestibility and the nitrogen balance of lambs fed three mineral supplements. The first treatment consisted of solid salt residue (SSR) from an aquaculture tank; the second contained SSR from desalination waste; and the third treatment was control, which corresponded to the supplementation of a commercial mineral supplement. The study lasted 20 days, the first 15 of which were used for animals to adapt to the pens and diets, and the last five days were used for data collection. Twenty-four castrated male lambs with a body weight of 19.72±2.52 kg were utilized in the experiment. The mineral supplements evaluated did not affect the intake and digestibility of the dry matter and nutrients, the water and mineral-salt intake or nitrogen balance. Mineral supplements produced from the SSR from aquaculture tanks and from the desalination waste did not reduce feed, nutrient and water intakes or nutrient digestibility, which suggests that these raw materials can be used in the elaboration of mineral mixtures for lambs.