Shorter Grazing Time and Supplementation Are Beneficial for Gastrointestinal Tract Development and Carcass Traits of Growing Lambs

作者：Yanmei Jin, Muhammad Asad, Xiaoqing Zhang, Jize Zhang, Ruizhi Shi · 发表于：Animals · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3390/ani12070878 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology、Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock、Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock

The effects of restricted grazing durations on the gastrointestinal development and carcass quality of growing lambs are poorly understood. In this study, 32 lambs were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 8, body weight = 21.86 kg) corresponding to 2, 4, 8 and 12 h of grazing per day. When off-pasture, all lambs were housed and fed concentrate and hay. When the grazing time decreased from 12 h to 2 h, the abomasum weight and large intestine length decreased (p = 0.019; p = 0.069). Compared to lambs grazed for 12 h, animals grazed for 2−4 h had a greater villus height and villus-to-crypt ratio in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum segments (p < 0.05); the 2 h lambs had superior carcass quality and a smaller diameter and area of the gluteus medium muscle fibers (p < 0.05), with no significant change after 4 h of grazing. The results indicated that shorter grazing times and supplementation were beneficial for the gastrointestinal tract development and carcass quality of growing lambs. Therefore, a better grazing management approach in Inner Mongolia could be to restrict the grazing of lambs to 4 h per day instead of grazing for more extended periods.