Effects of fermented flammulina mushroom bran on growth performance, meat quality, and breeding cost of mutton sheep.

The experiment aimed to explore the effects of different levels of fermented flammulina mushroom bran on the growth performance, meat quality, and breeding cost of mutton sheep. A total of 60 healthy Hu sheep with similar body weight were randomly divided into five groups, with 12 replicates per group and one Hu sheep per replicate. The mutton sheep in each group were fed a basic diet supplemented with 0, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% fermented flammulina mushroom bran, respectively, substituting an equivalent amount for the whole-plant corn silage in the basic diet. The preliminary trial period was 7 days, and the formal trial period was 60 days. The results showed that compared with the control group, feeding 20% and 30% fermented flammulina mushroom bran significantly increased the final weight and average daily weight gain of mutton sheep (P<0.05), and significantly reduced the feed-to-gain ratio (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, feeding 20% and 30% fermented flammulina mushroom bran significantly increased the carcass weight, slaughter rate, net meat weight, and net meat rate of mutton sheep (P<0.05), significantly improved the muscle redness and cooked meat rate (P<0.05), significantly increased the muscle pH value at 24 hours and muscle fiber density of mutton sheep (P<0.05). Feeding 20% fermented flammulina mushroom bran significantly reduced the muscle drip loss of mutton sheep (P<0.05). Feeding 10% to 40% fermented flammulina mushroom bran significantly increased the muscle fiber area of mutton sheep (P<0.05). Feeding fermented flammulina mushroom bran can increase the weight gain income of mutton sheep, improve breeding profitability, and the breeding profit of Hu sheep in each fermented flammulina mushroom bran group increased by 16.23%, 41.52%, 31.64%, and 2.19% compared to the control group. The study indicates that adding an appropriate amount of fermented flammulina mushroom bran to the diet of mutton sheep can improve the growth performance and meat quality, enhance the slaughter performance, reduce the breeding costs, and increase the breeding profit, with an optimal addition level of 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]