【Objective】This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary grape seed proanthocyanidins (GSPs) supplementation on growth performance, rumen fermentation, rumen and serum inflammatory factors and antioxidative activity in lambs under the condition of a high-concentrate diet, so as to provide a support for applying GSPs on ruminant. 【Method】A total of forty-eight 1/2 Dorper × 1/2 thin-tailed Han ram lambs with similar body weight (BW = 22.75±1.20 kg, mean ± SD) were randomly divided into four groups, with twelve lambs each group. Lambs were fed a 30:70 forage:concentrate diet with 0 (control), 10 (10GSPs), 20 (20GSPs), and 40 mg·kg-1 BW (40GSPs) GSPs supplemented, respectively. The feeding experiment lasted for 60 days before sampling, with the first 15 days for diet transition and adaptation. On the first day of the formal experiment period, the BW before morning feeding was weighed as the initial BW. At the end of the trial period, blood samples were collected from the jugular vein, and the serum was separated for the determination of antioxidant and inflammatory indicators and lipopolysaccharide content. At the same time, six lambs in each group were randomly selected to collect rumen fluid by using an oral stomach tube at 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12 hours after feeding, respectively, and the rumen pH were measured immediately. The fluid samples at 3 hours after feeding were used to measured fermentation parameters and lipopolysaccharide content. The other 6 lambs in each group were slaughtered, and the samples of rumen tissue were collected to determine the antioxidation index and inflammatory factors. 【Result】The final weight of lambs in 10GSPs and 20GSPs groups were significant greater than that in control group (P<0.05), with no difference between 40GSPs and 10GSPs or 20GSPs (P>0.05). Lambs in 10GSPs and 20GSPs groups also had higher average daily gain and average daily feed intake than control and 40GSPs (P<0.05), with no significant difference between control and 40GSPs (P>0.05). The dietary GSPs supplementation had a certain regulatory effect on rumen pH. The rumen pH increased linearly with the supplementation of GSPs (P<0.05) at 3, 8 and 12 h after feeding, and tended to increased linearly at 4 h (P=0.057). The concentrations of acetate, butyrate and total volatile fatty acid in rumen fluid tended to decrease after GSPS was added (P<0.1), but there was no significant effect on propionate, isovalerate, valerate, and the ratio of acetic acid to propionic acid (P>0.05). After GSPs was supplemented, the serum lipopolysaccharide concentration was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05), but which did not affect the lipopolysaccharide concentration in the rumen fluid. The activity of GSH-Px in rumen tissue of 20GSPs and 40GSPs groups was significantly higher than that of the control group and 10GSPs group (P<0.05) , however, the content of MDA was significantly lower. The serum SOD activity of 20GSPs and 40GSPs group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the GSH-Px activity was higher than control and 10GSPs group (P<0.05). There was no significant effect was observed in rumen inflammatory factors when GSPs was supplemented, but there was a trend of decreasing IL-6 and IL-10 (P<0.1). The level of TNF-α in 20GSPs and 40GSPs group were significantly lower than that in the control group and 10 GSPs group (P<0.05). The level of IL-10 in 40GSPs group was significantly lower than control group, with no significant difference between 40GSPs and 10GSPs or 20GSPs (P>0.05). 【Conclusion】Supplementing appropriate amount of GSPs to high-concentrate diet could improve the rumen pH, and the antioxidant capacity of serum and rumen tissue of lambs, suggesting that appropriate amount of GSPs had the potential protective effect on lamb health. The optimal feeding dose was 20 mg·kg-1 BW under the condition of this experiment.
【Objective】Fat is an important nutrient element in animal diet, and it is also the main energy supply material, so it plays an important role in animal production. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of high fat diet on growth performance, energy metabolism and slaughter performance of early weaned Hu lambs before and after weaning, so as to provide theoretical basis and technical support for healthy breeding of early weaned lambs. 【Method】Thirty pairs of healthy Hu sheep twin lambs with similar birth age, similar weight were randomly divided into two groups, including high fat diet group (HF: 26.89% and 5.07%) and normal fat diet group (NF: 15.15% and 2.80%). The lambs of the two groups were fed with milk replacer and pellet with different fat levels from 7 to 60 days old and weaned milk powder at 60 days old, and then which were fed with the same pellet from 60 to 120 days. Nine pairs of twin lambs were randomly selected at the age of 50-60 and 110-120 days according to the average body weight, and the digestion and metabolism trails were conducted by the method of total feces and urine collection to evaluate the energy metabolism of lambs fed diets with different fat levels before and after weaning. According to the average body weight of lambs, nine pairs of twin lambs were randomly slaughtered at the age of 60 and 120 days to test slaughter performance, organ indexes, and gastrointestinal development. 【Result】Before weaning, the total dry matter intake (DMI), total energy intake (GE), fecal energy (FE), urinary energy (UE), apparent digestibility of total energy, total energy metabolic rate (ME/GE), empty body weight (EBW), slaughter rate, GR value of lambs in the two groups were significantly higher than those in the control group .There was no significant difference in the proportion of stomach and intestines to pre slaughter live weight (P>0.05); The body weight, DE, ME, DE/ME, HCW, head weight, heart weight, hoof weight, the proportion of hoof weight to live weight before slaughter, omasum weight and small intestine weight of 60 day old lambs in HF group were higher than those in NF group (0.05<P<0.1), and the eye muscle area and abomasum weight were significantly higher than those in NF group (P<0.05). After weaning milk powder, all lambs were fed the same pellet to 120 days of age. DMI of lambs fed high fat diet at 61-120 stage and BW, LBW, EBW, HCW, skin + gross weight, heart weight, hoof weight and rumen weight of lambs at 120 days of age were significantly higher than those in NF group (P<0.05), and spleen and kidney weight were also higher than those in NF group (0.05<P<0.1); the feeding high fat diet before weaning did not affect energy metabolism, other organ index and gastrointestinal development of lambs after weaning (P>0.05). 【Conclusion】Feeding high fat diet before weaning could improve the body weight, digestible energy and metabolizable energy, carcass weight and eye muscle area of lambs. Feeding high fat diet during lactation significantly increased feed intake, body weight, live weight before slaughter and carcass weight of lambs after weaning. In conclusion, the increasing dietary fat content before weaning had a positive effect on energy metabolism and slaughter performance of Hu sheep twin male lambs before and after weaning.
【Objective】this study was conducted to research effects of addition of cinnamaldehyde in calf starter on growth performance, health status, rumen fermentation and microflora of calves, so as to provide theoretical basis for applying cinnamaldehyde in calf cultivation. 【Method】Twenty-four healthy Holstein male calves at the age of around 15 days, with similar body weight, were selected, and were divided into control group and experiment group, with three replicates in each group and four calve in each replicate. The control group were fed basic starter, while starter of experimental group was added with 0.3% encapsulated cinnamaldehyde which contained 15% effective cinnamaldehyde. The weaning period contained 6 pre-trail period, and 27 days of formal trail period, both groups were fed same amount of milk, the starter and orts grass were given at libtium, and the ruminal fluid was taken by stomach tube at the end of weaning period. After weaned, the animals were kept for another 51 days with same feeding management mode, the ruminal fluid was taken at the end of the experiment. The feed intake, growth performance, body measurement, fence score and ruminal volatile fatty acids concentrations were measured during the two phase of the experiment, and the ruminal bacterial community composition was measured based on 16SrDNA gene high through put sequencing. 【Result】The results showed that: (1) In terms of feed intake and growth performance, there were no difference in average daily gain, dry matter intake and feed efficiency between experiment and control group at pre-weaning, post-weaning stage and whole experiment period (P>0.05), there were no differences in body measurements parameters between experiment and control group as well (P>0.05); 2) In terms of calf health status, the diarrhea rate of the experimental group was lower than that of the control group, but was not significant (P>0.05). 3) For the rumen fermentation parameters, the concentration of volatile fatty acids of rumen fluid in the experimental group on weaning day was tend to lower than that in the control group (P>0.05). At the end of the experiment, the concentration of volatile fatty acids, including acetate, propionate, butyrate and valerate of experimental group was significantly higher, while acetate/propionate ratio lower than that of control group (P<0.01); 4) At the end of experiment, cinnamaldehyde supplementation increased ruminal bacteria Shannon diversity index, decreased Simpson diversity index; addition of cinnamaldehyde increased abundance of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria at phylum and prevotella at genus level (P<0.01). 【Conclusion】The results showed that addition of 0.3% encapsulated cinnamaldehyde which contained 15% effective cinnamaldehyde had no influence on growth performance, but decreased diarrhea rate, increased ruminal volatile fatty acids concentration and decreased acetate/propionate ratio, increased ruminal bacterial community diversity, and abundance of Firmicutes and Prevotella, indicated addition of high amount of cinnamaldehyde had no adverse effects on calf growth performance, but changed ruminal bacterial community composition and ruminal fermentation mode.
【Objective】This study was conducted to explore the effects of early weaning and NDF levels of finishing diets on the growth performance, and nutrient digestion and metabolism of Hu sheep lambs, and to filter out the best combination of feeding methods by calculating the superposition effect between the experimental factors. 【Method】One hundred and twenty Hu lambs with similar body weight [(8.26±2.14) kg] and (20±2 ) days of age were randomly divided into four groups with six replicates in each group and five lambs in each replicate. NDF levels of early finishing diets were 33%(low) and 38%(high), NDF levels of late finishing diets were 28% (low) and 38% (high). Treatments included followings: early weaning (EW) + feeding low NDF diet in early and late finishing stage (EW-LL); early weaning + feeding low NDF diet in early finishing stage and high NDF diet in late finishing stage (EW-LH); early weaning + feeding high NDF diet in early and late finishing stage (EW-HH); ewe reared (ER) + feeding high NDF diet in early and late finishing stage (ER-HH). Early weaned lambs gradually transitioned from breastfeeding to feeding milk replacer at the age of 20 days and supplemented with starter feed. The fattening period was from 61 to 180 days of age. The trial lasted 160 days. The body weight and feed intake of lambs were measured at different stages, and digestibility tests were carried out at 2, 4 and 6 months of age.【Result】There was no significant difference in body weight and average daily gain among four groups (P>0.05) except the average daily gain of lambs from 46 to 65 days of age, which was higher in ER group compared with EW group (P<0.05). The dry matter intake of early-weaned lambs from 21 to 65 days old was significantly higher than that of ewe reared lambs (P<0.05), In the early weaned groups, the pellet intake of lambs fed low-NDF diets during the finishing stage were significantly higher than the other two groups at the age of 121-180 days (P<0.05). The nutrient digestibility, energy and nitrogen utilization of early weaned lambs were lower than those in the ER group at 55 to 65 days of age. But it was inverse at fattening period, the dry matter and organic matter digestibility of lambs fed low NDF diet was higher than those fed high NDF diet in finishing stage (P<0.05). EW-LL group had the highest ADG increase scope by superposition effect analysis. The superimposing effect of the two feeding methods of early weaning and low-NDF diet during the early finishing stage was -50.57%.【Conclusion】According to the whole fattening cycle, early weaning and feeding milk replacer could promote the growth performance of lambs. The fattening effect of the low NDF level diet in the early finishing stage was worse than the high NDF level diet. When lambs have the same diet in the late finishing stage, the weight gain of lambs fed with low NDF diet was better than that of lambs fed with high NDF diet in the early finishing stage. By the comprehensive analysis of the growth performance, digestion and metabolism of lambs, the priority of the combination of feed methods was EW-LL>EW-LH=EW-HH>ER-HH. The combination of early weaning + feeding low NDF diet in early and later finishing stage was recommended in this study.
