RESUMO
The aim of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of devil fish (Plecostomus spp.-DF) silage in Criollo × Blackbelly lamb diets in hot region of Guerrero state of Mexico. Rumen fermentation including pH, volatile fatty acids (VFA) and ammonia-N (NH3-N) and productive variables including feed intake (FI), average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion were determined. Twenty lambs with 18 ± 1.2 kg body weight in a completely randomized design were fed a total mixed ration (TMR) of concentrate (based on soybean meal, whole oat hay, ground corn cob, vitamins-minerals supplement) with DF silage at 0 % (DF0), 9 % (DF9), 18 % (DF18), and 27 % (DF27) of the TMR for 75 days. The ruminal pH showed no difference (P > 0.05) between treatments: ranging between 6.21 and 6.36. Propionic acid molar proportions showed an irregular pattern between experimental groups, which only differed (P < 0.05) between DF9 and DF27, without differences between the other treatments. A greater molar proportion of butyric acid was noted (P < 0.05) in DF27 when compared to the other treatments. The ruminal concentration of NH3-N showed some insignificant differences (P > 0.05) among treatments. The daily FI was increased (P < 0.01) in DF27 (1.131 g) when compared with DF0, while DF9 and DF18 showed intermediate consumption with no differences (P > 0.05) among them. The ADG showed only difference (cubic effect, P = 0.02) between DF9 and DF18. The highest feed conversion was observed (cubic effect, P < 0.01) with DF18, with a value of 4.7 kg of feed to gain 1 kg of body weight. It could be concluded that the inclusion of up to 18 % of DF silage in the TMR of growing lamb diets, in hot regions of Mexico, may improve productive performance and ruminal fermentation kinetics, without any negative effects.