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Simple Summary: Simple Summary: Lycium barbarum (Wolfberry) extract is predominantly utilized in livestock and poultry applications. However, the impact of unprocessed branches and leaves of Lycium barbarum as a roughage source on ruminant growth performance, slaughter metrics, and rumen micro-organisms remains not well understood. This investigation examines the effects of incorporating Lycium barbarum branches and leaves into the diet of Hu sheep, specifically assessing growth performance, slaughter results, and meat quality through feeding trials and slaughter tests. Additionally, this study explored the impact on rumen microflora by utilizing 16S rDNA sequencing technology. Findings indicated that diet inclusion of Lycium barbarum branches and leaves could enhance nutrient absorption, which in turn improves growth performance and certain aspects of meat quality. The Lycium barbarum branches and leaves (LBL) are known to contain a range of active substances that have positive effects on animal immunity and antioxidation. This study aimed to examine how LBL impacts the growth and slaughter performance as well as rumen fermentation and microbiota in Hu sheep. A total of 50 male Hu sheep of indigenous origin, aged 3 months, were randomly divided into 5 groups of 10 sheep each. The groups were given different levels of LBL supplementation (0%, 3%, 6%, 9%, and 12%) to evaluate growth performance and nutrient apparent digestibility. Rumen fluid samples were collected for analysis of the fermentation parameters and rumen chyme was examined to study the rumen microbiota. The slaughter performance, meat quality, and organ index were evaluated at the conclusion of the experiment. The results showed that the final body weight and average daily gain of the LBL1 group were significantly higher than those of the CON group, LBL3 group, and LBL4 group (p < 0.05). The average dry matter intake of the LBL4 group was significantly lower than that of other experimental groups (p < 0.05). The apparent digestibility of CP in the LBL1 and LBL2 groups was higher than that in other experimental groups (p < 0.05). At the same time, the eye muscle area and grade-rule (GR) value of Hu sheep in the LBL1 group significantly increased and the quality of Hu sheep meat improved (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in organ weight and organ index between the experimental groups (p > 0.05). The pH of the rumen fluid in the LBL1 group was significantly lower than that in the CON group (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the NH3-N content between the experimental groups (p > 0.05). The propionate and valerate in the rumen fluid of Hu sheep in the LBL2 group were significantly higher than those in other experimental groups (p < 0.05). In addition, this had no significant effect on the structure and abundance of the rumen microbiota (p > 0.05). LBL is a promising functional feed. Adding an appropriate amount of LBL to the diet can improve the feed efficiency, growth performance, and meat quality of Hu sheep but has no adverse effects on the rumen. In this experiment, the appropriate supplemental level of LBL in the diet was 3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: As demand for lamb is increasing, shortening the growth cycle and increasing meat production in lambs are major concerns today. Protein and energy are the two nutrients that most directly drive meat production in animals. In lambs, however, too few applications are available through nutrient combinations. We believe it is feasible to encourage animals to improve meat production performance by regulating the simplest nutrients in feed. In this experiment, we investigated the effects of three dietary ingredients with protein-to-fat ratios on growth, slaughter performance, fat deposition and meat quality of Small-Tail Han lambs. The aim of the current research was to gain insights/provide ideas for enhancing nutrient combination effects to improve animal production performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of feed ingredients with different protein-to-fat ratios on growth, slaughter performance and meat quality of Small-Tail Han lambs. Forty-five Small-Tail Han lambs (♂) (BW = 34.00 ± 2.5 kg, age = 120 ± 9 d) were randomly divided into groups with three different experimental treatments: (1) PF 5, with the ratio of protein to fat (CP:EE) of 50 to 5; (2) PF10, CP: EE = 50:10; (3) PF20, CP: EE = 50:20. Each treatment group had 15 lambs, and each sheep was a repeat. This experiment lasted for 65 days, with feed intake recorded daily, and animals being weighed on days 0, 30, and 65. At the conclusion of the experiment, eight lambs from each group were slaughtered to assess slaughter performance and meat quality. The results showed that the average daily gain (ADG) of the three groups were 315.27, 370.15 and 319.42 g/d, respectively. The PF10 group had the highest ADG (370.15 g) (p < 0.05). Forestomach weights (1216.88 g) of the PF10 group were significantly higher than those of the other groups (p < 0.05). There were no differences (p > 0.05) in fat percentages in various parts of body among treatments. Feed conversion of the PF10 group was higher (p < 0.05) than that of PF 5 and PF 20 groups. Furthermore, the PF10 group had a higher (p > 0.05) carcass weight and slaughter rate and there were few differences between the other groups in terms of dry matter intake, meat quality, organ weight, and fat deposition (p > 0.05). The protein–energy supplement with protein-to-fat ratio, PF10 appeared to be more desirable to promote the growth and development in Small-Tail Han Lambs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruminal microorganisms play a crucial role in the energy supply of ruminants and animal performance. We analyzed the variations in rumen bacteria and fungi at 45 d, 75 d, and 105 d by using 16SrRNA and ITS sequencing data and investigated their correlation with rumen fermentation. According to the results, rumen microflora tended to gradually mature with age, and bacterial and fungal establishment gradually stabilized. Upon comparing the three periods, the concentration of propionic acid increased significantly (p < 0.05) after weaning, and weaning accompanied by a transition in diet remarkably decreased (p < 0.05) rumen diversity in the short term and induced a corresponding change in the rumen microbiota composition. Bacteroidota, Actinobacteriota, and Firmicutes were the core bacterial phyla for all age periods. Ruminococcus, NK4A214_group, Sharpea, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, and norank_f__Butyricicoccaceae were the markedly abundant bacterial genera in pre-weaning. After weaning, the relative abundance of Erysipelotrichaceae_ UCG-002, Eubacterium_ruminantium_group, and Solobacterium significantly increased (p < 0.05). The relative abundance of Acetitomaculum increased with age with the greatest abundance noted at 105 d (37%). The dominant fungal phyla were Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, and Aspergillus and Xeromyces were the most abundant fungal genera after weaning. Trichomonascus, Phialosimplex, and Talaromyces were enriched at 105 d. However, the low abundance of Neocallimastigomycota was not detected throughout the study, which is worthy of further investigation. In addition, correlations were observed between age-related abundances of specific genera and microbiota functions and rumen fermentation-related parameters. This study revealed that rumen microbiota and rumen fermentation capacity are correlated, which contributed to a better understanding of the effects of age and diet on rumen microbiology and fermentation in calves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]