The diet of small ruminants is mainly based on grazing rangelands or communal lands, with poor quality forage abundant. Agro-industrial byproducts and waste are abundant and must be included in the diet of ruminants since there is increasingly little availability of high-quality grains and forages. Particularity, the citrus industry produces a high amount of organic waste that contaminates the environment; using these byproducts to feed small ruminants gives livestock farmers a socioeconomic advantage. The objective was to evaluate the drying and density of flies in the orange peel (OP) and the performance in small ruminants fed with a proportion of the OP in the diet. The results indicated that including 10% limestone decreased the proliferation of flies and dried the OP. The 50:50 amount caused more moisture loss and less fly proliferation in the OP, but more limestone was wasted, and the calcium level in the formulated diet increased. Limestone inclusions improved the appearance of the OP and visually decreased bagasse oxidation. Female lambs and goats fed an energy ration with 10% OP dried with limestone and conventionally showed no significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) in weight gain, feed consumption, and feed conversion. The calcium and phosphorous content in the blood serum of the lambs and goats in this study indicates a normal status, and there were no significant differences (P >0.05) between the groups. In conclusion, limestone as a source of CaCO₃ did not increase the economic cost of the diet; the proliferation of flies and the oxidation of OP were significantly reduced, making the preparation of the diets and their storage easier.