Hayvan Bilimi ve Ürünleri Dergisi, vol.4, no.2, pp.164-173, 2021 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
This study was carried out to eliminate the toxic effect of soluble oxalate
in sugar beet pulp (SBP) by ensiling and adding Ca during ensiling and
to determine the effects of the obtained silage on sheep. The study was
based on two experiments. For the first experiment, the laboratory
silages were prepared as SBP alone with the addition of molasses and
straw at different levels of dry matter and Ca. After fermentation for 120
days, the Fleig scores, physical properties, Weende analysis, and oxalate
analysis were performed. This laboratory trial showed that the content of
the soluble oxalate could be reduced to nontoxic levels by ensiling and
adding Ca. For the second experiment, SBP silage with 30% dry matter
(DM) and 45 mg/kg SBP were prepared according to the results of the
first experiment. This silage was fed to 36 sheep divided into six groups.
During the experiment, blood samples and rumen fluid was collected
every 14 days during the experiment, and the body weights were
controlled. The results of this experiment showed that the soluble
oxalate amount of SBP decreased to a tolerable level by the rumen.
Thus, ensiling SBP with barley straw, molasses, urea, and di-calcium
phosphate (DCP), as a calcium source, showed that soluble oxalate
levels of SBP could be reduced levels below the toxic levels, and added
to sheep ratio as 60%.