الفهرس 
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Abstract
The object of this study was to investigate: 1-The effect of wilting, chopping and formic acid treatment on berseem silage quality besides determination of digestibility, rumen fermentation and blood metabolites of rams fed tested rations (Trial 1). 2-Evaluating the best treatment in trial 1 and its effects on growth performance, feed efficiency, economic efficiency, blood metabolites and carcass characteristics of growing lambs(Trial 2).
First trial:
Berseem forage (at 3rd cut) was manually chopped at 2-3 cm of length and wilted for 0, 24 or 48 hr and thereafter ensiled with or without formic acid (0.5%) treatment in plastic barrels. At the same time, another quantity of un-chopped berseem forage was wilted for 24 hr and ensiled with or without formic acid treatment. Digestibility trials were conducted to evaluate the utilization of berseem silages using mature Ossimi rams.
Second trial:
This study was conducted to determine growth performance, feed efficiency, feed utilization, blood metabolites and carcass characteristics of growing lambs raised on berseem silage treated with formic acid and concentrate feed mixture (CFM) ration. Berseem clover was chopped at 2-3 cm of length and wilted for 24 hr then ensiled with 0.5% formic acid treatment (BSF). After 60 days from ensiling process, fermentation characteristics of ensiled berseem were immediately examined. Twelve growing crossbreed lambs were randomly assigned to two groups. First group (6 lambs; 23.0±1.68 kg) was raised on starter concentrate feed mixture (CFM) plus berseem hay as a control ration. The second group (6 lambs; 22.5±1.68 kg) was raised on CFM plus BSF. Growth trial was continued for 6 months. Daily weight gain (DWG), relative growth rate (RGR), voluntary feed intake, feed conversion, economic efficiency, blood parameters were examined. Digestibility trials were conducted in the last month of the experiment to determine the utilization and feeding value of tested rations. At the end of experiment, three lambs of each group were slaughtered to determine carcass traits and anatomy of digestive tract.