The aim of the research was to determine the effect of adding flax seeds (Linum usitatissimum) in fattening feed mixtures on fattening and slaughter parameters of pasture raised lambs fed with grass, breast milk and feed mixtures. For this purpose, commercial fodder mixture and fodder mixture enriched with extruded flax seeds were produced in the fodder factory Jata Emona, Ltd in Ljubljana. Additionally, a hypothesis was set to examine the influence of sex on the examined parameters. A total of 96 lambs of the pramenka breed and its hybrids were selected for this study. Three groups were formed: the control group (KON; n = 32) was organized with animals whose diet was based on grazing in combination with breast milk ad libitum; experimental KKS group of lambs (n = 32) which diet consisted of pasture and ad libitum breast milk with additional 300g of commercial fattening feed mixture on a daily basis; and KSL5% experimental group (n = 32) feeding pasture and ad libitum breast milk in addition to 300g of feed mixture enriched with 5% extruded flax seeds.

the milk of control and α-linolenic (1.90%) of milk experimental group of sheep were the most prevalent in the winter. The lowest ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids in sheep's milk was achieved in the period of feeding sheep with old grass (July), 1.46% in the milk of the experimental group of sheep that were fed with concentrates in which omega-3 preparations were added.

This study was intended to determine the effect of adding flax seeds to a concentrate for lamb fattening on the fatty acid composition of the omental fat depot in Pramenka lambs reared indoors. A total of 63 lambs (10±3 kg of live body weight, 30±7 days of age, 30 males and 33 females) were used. They were divided into two groups: a control (CON) fed on hay, ewe's milk, and a 300-g daily ration of a commercial concentrate, and an experimental group (FS) fed on hay, ewe's milk and 300 g/day of the concentrate enriched with 5% of flax seeds. After a 60-day fattening period for each group, 10 lambs (5 males and 5 females) were selected and omental fat samples were analysed for fatty acid composition. Highly significant differences (p⟨0.001) were found between CON and FS in α-linolenic acid, the sum of n-3 fatty acids, and the ratio n-6/n-3 fatty acids. The effect of sex on the fatty acid content in the fat depot was only significant for C20:0 fatty acid (p⟨0.05).

Abstract This research is aimed at determining the impact of supplementing extensively reared lambs with a limited amount of flax seed enriched-concentrate on the fatty acid profile of the lamb meat (omental fat depot). A total of 96 60-day old Pramenka breed lambs (23.85±3.98 kg live body weight; 60±10 days of age; 42 males and 54 females) raised on pasture with their dams were randomly divided in three experimental groups: control (CON) or extensive rearing group, which did not receive any supplementary feed; concentrate (CC) group, receiving 300 g of a conventional commercial concentrate feed per animal daily, and concentrate-flax seed (CC-FS) group, receiving 300 g/day of the concentrate supplemented with 5% of flax seed. After 60 days of experimental period, 10 lambs were selected (5 males and 5 females) from each group and slaughtered. Omental fat samples were taken and analyzed to determine their fatty acid profile. Significant (P>0.05) differences in the fatty acid profile between CON and CC groups were small. However, enrichment of the concentrate with 5% flax seed increased the percentages of PUFA and n-3 PUFA when compared to both CON and CC groups and thus slightly improved the nutritional characteristics of the omental fat. The effect of sex on the fatty acid profile was only observed for C20:4 n-6 and C20:5 n-3 (P < 0.05).