Comparative Study On The Performances And Grazing Behavior In Different Varieties Of Grazing Sheep

The grazing behavior, performance and the meat quality of the half-bred sheep, introduced sheep and Mongolian sheep were studied under grazing condition on the sandy grassland in Xilinhot steppe in Inner Mongolia. And the impact of the age on the performance and the meat quality was also discussed. The results were following:1. A significant difference existed in the ingestion time, rate of ingestion and daily intake between the 4-month-old and 6-month-old sheep among the three varieties(P﹤0.05). And a significant difference was found in wandering, standing, rumination and resting time among the three varieties(P﹤0.05), while there was no significant difference in the 6-month-old(P﹥0.05).2. Significant differences were both found in the slaughter index in the 4-month-old and the 6-month-old(P﹤0.05). There were no significant differences in the chest circumference, chest width and the cannon circumference of the 6-month-old(P﹥0.05), but significant differences were found in other indexes(P﹤0.05), and the slaughter indexes of the half-bred were higher than the other two varieties. As the sheep grew, there was little change in the cannon circumference, but the other slaughter indexes and body measurement indexes were growing(P﹤0.05).3. There was no significant difference in the meat color, pH and the meat tenderness between the 4-month-old and the 6-month-old among the three varieties(P﹥0.05), but the hold water capacity and cooked-meat percent of the half-bred sheep is significantly higher than the other two varieties(P﹤0.05). There were significant differences in the nutrition except the crude protein of the 4-month-old(P﹤0.05). There were little impact of the age to the meat color, hold water capacity and cooked-meat percent.4. There were significant differences in the fatty acids of the meat between the 4-month-old and the 6-month-old except the myristic acid of the 6-month-old. And age had a significant influence to the fatty acids in the meat of the lambs(P﹤0.05).5. The restricted amino acids, necessary amino acids, fleshy amino acids and total amino acids content of the 4-month-old half-bred sheep and the Mongolian sheep were significantly higher than that of the introduced sheep(P﹤0.05). There were significant differences in the restricted amino acids, necessary amino acids, fleshy amino acids and total amino acids content among the sheep and the increasing order of which was Mongolian sheep, introduced sheep and the half-bred sheep(P﹤0.05). As the half-bred sheep grew, the restricted amino acids, necessary amino acids, fleshy amino acids and total amino acids content decreased dramatically, which increased in the introduced and the Mongolian sheep(P﹤0.05).