Partially substituting alfalfa hay with hemp forage in the diet of goats improved feed efficiency, ruminal fermentation pattern and microbial profiles

作者：Tao Ran, Zhipeng Xu, Wenzhu Yang, Dalin Liu, Duanqin Wu · 发表于：Animal nutrition · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.aninu.2024.01.003 · 被引用次数：26 · 研究领域：Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology、Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems、Botanical Research and Chemistry

The use of hemp as a forage source in livestock diets has been less studied because bioactive residues in animal tissues may pose a risk to consumers. This study investigated the effects of partial substitution of alfalfa hay (AH) with hemp forage (HF) in growing goat diets on growth performance, carcass traits, ruminal fermentation characteristics, rumen microbial communities, blood biochemistry, and antioxidant indices. Forty Xiangdong black goats with body weight (BW) 7.82 ± 0.57 kg (mean ± SD) were grouped by BW and randomly assigned into one of the four treatment diets (n = 10/treatment) in a completely randomized design. The goats were fed ad libitum total mixed rations containing 60% forage and 40% concentrate (DM basis). The diets included control (CON; 60% AH and 40% concentrate), 55% AH and 5% HF (HF5), 50% AH and 10% HF (HF10), and 40% AH and 20% HF (HF20). Increasing the substitution of HF for AH linearly decreased (P < 0.01) DM intake and improved feed conversion efficiency. However, final BW, average daily gain, carcass traits, meat quality, and most blood biochemistry indices did not differ among treatments. The ruminal NH3-N concentration and blood urine nitrogen linearly increased (P < 0.01) with increasing substitution rate of HF, whereas the total volatile fatty acids concentration quadratically changed (P < 0.01). Substitution of AH with HF had no effect on the diversity and richness of ruminal microbes, though it linearly decreased (P = 0.040) Prevotella_...