Digestibility of a diet with hydroponic maize (Zea mays L.) green fodder and its effect on lamb growth

Objective: Determine the apparent digestibility (AD) of diets with hydroponic maize green fodder (HMGF) (Zea mays L.) and evaluate its effect on dry matter (DM) intake and daily weight gain (DWG) in lambs.Design/methodology/approach: Two experiments were carried out with four inclusion levels of HMGF (0, 20, 40, 60% of DM) in the diet. A total of 16 sheep was used to determine the AD of the diet. Growth testing was carried out in 20 male lambs. Both studies employed a completely randomized design.Results: The AD of DM and crude protein was higher in diets with 40 and 60% of HMGF (P0.05; P0.01). Lambs fed diets with 0 and 20% of HMGF showed higher DWG (P0.05). Sheep fed diets with 60% of HMGF showed lower DM intake (P0.05). Study limitations/implications: Although there are currently several methods to supplement sheep during drought periods, few are fully adapted to what the producers need. Hydroponic maize green fodder is a valuable alternative for the rapid and constant production of high nutritional value fodder. Findings/conclusions: The hydroponic maize green fodder has high digestibility, and thus, it can be used as an excellent source of fodder in the diet of lambs, obtaining adequate weight gains with rations that include up to 40% in the ration in substitution of commercial feed.