Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (6): 1829-1840.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2022.06.016

• ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FEEDS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Huopopuling Powder on Growth Performance, Digestibility and Serum Biochemical Indexes in Fattening Lambs under Heat Stress

CHE Dalu1, CHENG Sucai2, ZHANG Weitao3, ZHAO Juanjuan1, LIU Aiyu1, LI Xiaoyu1, ZHOU Yinghao4, GAO Yuhong1*, SUN Xinsheng5*, LI Xuemei1*   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China;
    2. Langfang Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Langfang 065000, China;
    3. Animal Husbandry Station of Hebei, Shijiazhuang 050035, China;
    4. Chengde Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Chengde 067000, China;
    5. College of Information Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
  • Received:2021-06-25 Online:2022-06-23 Published:2022-06-25

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Abstract: Sheep are suffering from severe heat stress in summer recently, and present study was conducted to investigate the effect of Chinese herbal formulation (Huopopuling Powder) in diet on growth performance, digestibility, rumen fermentation parameters, and serum biochemical indexes in fattening lambs in summer. A total of 200 fattening lambs with similar body weight and the same age were selected and randomly divided into 4 groups, which were fed with 0% (control group), 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5% of Huopopuling Powder. The experimental period were lasted for 30 days, and the temperature and humidity index in experimental shed averaged 79.11. The growth performance of fattening lambs, apparent nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation parameters, and serum biochemical indexes were detected at the end of the experiment. The results were showed as follows: 1) The daily weight gain of lambs fed 0.5% Huopopuling Powder was higher than that of the control (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in daily water intake and daily feed intake among all groups (P>0.05). For physiological parameter, the rectal temperature and respiratory rate of lambs fed with Huopopuling Powder showed no significant difference compared with the control (P>0.05). 2) The apparent digestibility of nutrients involving dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, crude protein, calcium and phosphorus was higher in 0.5% group than that in the control (P < 0.05). The DM digestibility increased by 7.20% in 0.5% group compared with the control (P < 0.01), while the digestibility in 1.0% or 1.5% group exhibited no significant difference compared with the control (P>0.05). 3) For serum biochemical indexes, growth hormone content was higher in the three Huopopuling-fed groups than that in the control (P < 0.05); Among all groups, the content was the highest in 0.5% group, showing 16.90% higher than that in the control. While thyroxine content in 0.5% group significantly increased compared with other groups (P < 0.05). 4) From analysis of rumen fermentation, fermentation parameters in three Huopopuling supplementation groups demonstrated an increase ranged from 1.19 to 1.30 times in total volatile fatty acid, 1.18 to 1.24 times in acetic acid, and 1.28 to 1.43 times in butyric acid than those in the control (P < 0.05). The results indicate that under the condition of this study, Huopopuling Powder could effectively alleviate heat stress of fattening lambs and its appropriate dose is suggested for 0.5% in diet.

Key words: heat stress, Chinese herb, sheep, growth performance, rumen fermentation

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