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Ruminants
Special Issues
Nutrients and Feed Additives in Sheep and Goats
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Nutrients and Feed Additives in Sheep and Goats

A special issue of Ruminants (ISSN 2673-933X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 761

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Neila Lidiany Ribeiro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Animal Production, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), Campina Grande, Paraíba 58429-900, Brazil
2. Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB), Areia 58397-000, Brazil
Interests: ruminant nutrition; feed additives; sustainable feeding strategies; natural additives; rumen health; animal performance; methane mitigation; animal welfare; animal behavior

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ruminant nutrition plays a crucial role in animal productivity and environmental sustainability. Sustainable feeding strategies aim to optimize the use of resources and minimize environmental impacts. Natural additives, such as essential oils, tannins, and probiotics, have gained prominence as alternatives to synthetic additives, promoting rumen health and improving animal performance. These compounds help balance the rumen microbiota, favoring digestion and feed efficiency. A sustainable approach also includes practices that mitigate methane emissions, one of the main greenhouse gases associated with animal production. Strategies such as the use of specific feed additives and dietary adjustments can significantly reduce emissions, contributing to more sustainable livestock farming. In addition to nutritional aspects, it is essential to prioritize animal welfare and behavior. Well-planned diets and environmental enrichment promote not only the physical health but also the behavioral balance of ruminants, ensuring a better quality of life. Thus, integrating quality nutrition with ethical and sustainable practices is key to meeting the challenges of modern livestock farming and meeting society's demands for safe, sustainable, and responsibly produced food.

Dr. Neila Lidiany Ribeiro
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Ruminants is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability
  • animal welfare
  • animal behavior
  • ruminants
  • natural additives
  • methane mitigation
  • gut health
  • small ruminants
  • native breeds

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 275 KiB  
Article
Leonardite (Humic and Fulvic Acid Complex) Long-Term Supplementation in Lambs Finished Under Subtropical Climate Conditions: Growth Performance, Dietary Energetics, and Carcass Traits
by Alfredo Estrada-Angulo, Jesús A. Quezada-Rubio, Elizama Ponce-Barraza, Beatriz I. Castro-Pérez, Jesús D. Urías-Estrada, Jorge L. Ramos-Méndez, Yesica J. Arteaga-Wences, Lucía de G. Escobedo-Gallegos, Luis Corona and Alejandro Plascencia
Ruminants 2025, 5(2), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/ruminants5020020 - 29 May 2025
Viewed by 553
Abstract
Leonardite (LEO), a microbial derived product rich in humic and fulvic acids, has been tested, due to its beneficial properties for health and well-being, as a feed additive, mainly in non-ruminant species. Although there are some reports of LEO supplementation in ruminants fed [...] Read more.
Leonardite (LEO), a microbial derived product rich in humic and fulvic acids, has been tested, due to its beneficial properties for health and well-being, as a feed additive, mainly in non-ruminant species. Although there are some reports of LEO supplementation in ruminants fed with high-to medium-forage based diets, there is no information available of the potential effects of LEO in ruminants fed, under sub-tropical climate conditions, with high-energy diets during long-term fattening. For this reason, the objective of the present experiment was to evaluate the effects of LEO levels inclusion in diets for feedlot lambs finished over a long-term period. For this reason, 48 Pelibuey × Katahdin lambs (initial weight = 20.09 ± 3.55 kg) were fed with a high-energy diet (88:12 concentrate to forage ratio) supplemented with LEO (with a minimum of 75% total humic acids) for 130 days as follows: (1) diet without LEO, (2) diet supplemented with 0.20% LEO, (3) diet supplemented with 0.40% LEO, and (4) diet supplemented with 0.60% LEO. For each treatment, Leonardite was incorporated with the mineral premix. Lambs were blocked by weight and housed in 24 pens (2 lambs/pen). Treatment effects were contrasted by orthogonal polynomials. The average climatic conditions that occurred during the experimental period were 31.6 ± 2.4 °C ambient temperature and 42.2 ± 8.1% relative humidity (RH). Those values of ambient temperature and RH represent a temperature humidity index (THI) of 79.07; thus, lambs were finished under high heat load conditions. The inclusion of LEO in diet did not affect dry matter intake (p ≥ 0.25) and average daily gain (p ≥ 0.21); therefore, feed to gain ratio was not affected (p ≥ 0.18). The observed to expected dietary net energy averaged 0.96 and was not affected by LEO inclusion (p ≥ 0.26). The lower efficiency (−4%) of dietary energy utilization is an expected response given the climatic conditions of high ambient heat load presented during fattening. Lambs that were slaughtered at an average weight of 49.15 ± 6.00 kg did not show differences on the variables measured for carcass traits (p ≥ 0.16), shoulder tissue composition (p ≥ 0.59), nor in visceral mass (p ≥ 0.46) by inclusion of LEO. Under the climatic conditions in which this experiment was carried out, LEO supplementation up to 0.60% in diet (equivalent to 0.45% of humic substances) did not did not help to alleviate the extra-energy expenditure used to dissipate the excessive heat and did not change the gained tissue composition of the lambs that were fed with high-energy diets during long-term period under sub-tropical climate conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrients and Feed Additives in Sheep and Goats)
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