Effects of pelletized corn straw and alfalfa hay-based total mixed ration on growth performance, blood characteristics and rumen fermentation of small-tailed han sheep Yang Y.*, Wang B., Li H.1, Chen B.Y., Yu Z. Department of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Bejing-100193, China 1Department of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot-010018, People's Republic of China *Corresponding author: cauyangyang@163.com
Online Published on 28 November, 2022. Abstract Yang, Y., Wang, B., Li, H., Chen, B. Y. and Yu, Z. 2022. Effects of pelletized corn straw and alfalfa hay-based total mixed ration on growth performance, blood characteristics and rumen fermentation of small-tailed Han sheep. Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology, 22: 469–480. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of pelletized corn straw (CS)- and alfalfa hay (AH)-based total mixed rations (TMRs) on the growth performance, blood characteristics and rumen fermentation of small-tailed Han sheep. Sixty sheep were divided into four treatment groups and randomly allocated to receive one of the following TMRs: (a) TMR-(unpelletized, with 40% CS); (b) TMR+(pelletized, with 40% CS); (c) TMR-1(pelletized, with 20% CS and 20% AH); and (d) TMR-2(pelletized, with 10% CS and 30% AH). Results showed that gas production, organic matter degradability and metabolizable energy at 48h were higher (P<0.01) in TMR-1 and TMR-2 than in other TMR. Dry matter intake and average daily gain were higher (P<0.05) in TMR-1 than in TMR+. The feed conversion ratio was higher (P<0.05) in TMR+ than in TMR-2. The plasma concentrations of total proteins, albumin, glucose and alkaline phosphatase were higher (P<0.01) in TMR-1 than in TMR+. Blood urea nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen were higher (P<0.01) in TMR+ than in TMR-2. It is indicated that pelletized TMR with appropriate amount CS and AH is a better fattening feed for sheep. Top Keywords Blood, Growth, Pelletize, Rumen, Sheep. Top |