Abstract: Four male China merino (Xinjiang type) sheep of 40 kg live weight were used to investigate effects of supplementation N-Acetyl-DL-Methionine on digestion and metabolism of sheep in two periods. Sheep were supplied with 2.35 g methionine per day in the first period and with 3.06 g N-Acetyl-DL-Methionine per day in the second period. The results indicated that digestibility of cellulose in control and treatment were 50.64%±6.46% and 61.98%±5.44%(P＜0.05), the digestibility of hemicellulose were 48.92%±1.69% and 54.96%±3.95%(P＜0.05), the apparent digestibility of calcium were 15.12%±1.07% and 18.27%±2.04%(P＜0.05). It concluded that the digestibility of cellulose and hemicellulose were improved by supplementation with N-Acetyl-DL-Methionine. The amount and rate of retention of calcium were also improved by the supplementation.

Key words: N-acetyl-DL-methionine; sheep; digestion and metabolism