Effect of the Replacement of Maize Silage and Soyabean Meal with Mulberry Silage in the Diet of Hu Lambs on Growth Performance, Serum Biochemical Indices, Slaughter Performance, and Meat Quality
Mingyan Wang,
Haoqi Han,
Yuan Shang,
Liyang Zhang,
Yu Zhang,
Chuanyou Su,
Hongxia Lian,
Tong Fu,
Tengyun Gao
Affiliations
Mingyan Wang
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Nutrition Regulation and Ecological Raising of Domestic Animal, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Haoqi Han
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Nutrition Regulation and Ecological Raising of Domestic Animal, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Yuan Shang
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Nutrition Regulation and Ecological Raising of Domestic Animal, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Liyang Zhang
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Nutrition Regulation and Ecological Raising of Domestic Animal, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Yu Zhang
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Nutrition Regulation and Ecological Raising of Domestic Animal, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Chuanyou Su
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Nutrition Regulation and Ecological Raising of Domestic Animal, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Hongxia Lian
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Nutrition Regulation and Ecological Raising of Domestic Animal, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Tong Fu
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Nutrition Regulation and Ecological Raising of Domestic Animal, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Tengyun Gao
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Nutrition Regulation and Ecological Raising of Domestic Animal, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Maize silage has a high demand for fertilizer and water. As an unconventional feed resource, mulberry silage has the potential to replace most maize silage and to alleviate the shortage of roughage in the mutton sheep industry in China. The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of the replacement of maize silage and soyabean meal with mulberry silage in the diet of Hu lambs on growth performance, serum biochemical indices, slaughter performance, and meat quality. Ninety-six healthy Hu lambs were randomly divided into four groups with six replicates per group and four lambs per replicate. The amounts of 0, 20, 40, and 60% of maize silage were replaced by mulberry silage in each group (denoted as CON, L, M, and H, respectively). The results showed that replacing maize silage with mulberry silage had no significant effect on the growth performance or the slaughter performance of Hu lambs (p > 0.05). Feeding Hu lambs with mulberry silage significantly reduced serum glucose (GLU) and the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) content (p p p p < 0.05). Based on these findings, it was recommended that 20–40% of maize silage be replaced by mulberry silage in the diet of Hu lambs.
