Effects Of Dietary Addition Of Artemisia Ordosica On Fattening Performance, Slaughter Performance And Meat Quality Of Cashmere Goats

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of 3% Artemisia ordosica on the production performance,nutrient digestibility,slaughter performance and meat quality of cashmere goats.Results provided a theoretical basis for the application of Artemisia ordosicain in the production of cashmere goats.The experiment was conducted in the Inner Mongolian White Cashmere Goat Breeding Sheep Farm.Single-factor complete randomized trial design was used in this study,and 40 goats(120 ± 10 days)selected from 4 months old weaned lambs were randomly divided into 2 groups.The control group goats were fed the basal diet without Artemisia ordosica,and the experimental group goats fed basal diet with 3% Artemisia ordosica.The lambs in each group were provided libitum access to water and feed.The pre-starter period was 14 days,and the starter period was 90 days including pre-fertilization(1-30 days),mid-term(31-60 days)and late(61-90 days).At the end of the fattening trial,eight lambs with approximately average body weight were selected from each group and slaughtered and sampled after fasting for 12 h and water for 2 h.This study was mainly divided into five parts:1.The first experiment was to investigate the effect of 3% Artemisia ordosica on the fattening performance of cashmere goat lambs.The results showed that the addition of 3% Artemisia ordosica reduced the fattening performance of cashmere goat lambs.At the end of the finishing period(90 days),the body weight and total weight gain of the lambs significantly decreased(P=0.046 and P=0.024,respectively),and the feed-to-meat ratio tended to increase significantly(P=0.080)in the experimental group compared with the control group.In the pre-fattening period and the mid-fattening period,the DMI of the lambs in the experimental group was significantly or tended to be significantly lower than that of the control lambs(P=0.032 and P=0.093,respectively).At the 30 th,60th and 90 th days of the experiment,the serum TG content of lambs in the experimental group was significantly or tended to be significantly lower than that of the control lambs(P=0.034,P=0.008,P=0.067).At 60 days and 90 days of the experiment,the serum CHO and LDL-C levels were significantly or tended to be significantly lower in the experimental group than those in the control group(P<0.05,P<0.10).2.The second experiment mainly studied the effects of 3%Artemisia ordosica on the slaughter performance and meat quality of cashmere goat lambs.The results showed that the live weight of lambs was significantly lower(P=0.049)in the experimental group compared with the control group.The lamb kidney weight,heart weight,and renal lipid weight in the experimental group were significantly or tended to be significantly lower than those in the control group(P=0.020,P=0.095,P=0.081).The ratio of hoof weight and rumen weight before slaughtered in the experimental group were significantly or tended to be significantly higher than that of the control lambs(P=0.035,P=0.076).Compared with the control group,the crude fat content of the longissimus dorisi in the experimental group was significantly reduced,and the crude protein content was significantly increased(P=0.021,P=0.0002);the cholesterol content of kidney fat,subcutaneous fat,longissimus dorsi muscle,and omentum lipid was significantly or tended to be decreased significantly(P<0.10,P<0.05).3.Experiment 3 mainly studied the effects of 3% Artemisia ordosica on the rumen fermentation performance of cashmere goat lambs.The results showed that compared with the control group,the ruminal NH3-N concentration of the experimental group tended to increase significantly(P=0.093),but the BCP content tended to decrease significantly(P=0.059),and the number of ruminal protozoa in the experimental group during the whole experimental period decreased significantly or tended to decrease significantly(P<0.10,P<0.05).The content of propionic acid,butyric acid,isobutyric acid,valeric acid,isovaleric acid and TVFA in the rumen in the experimental group were significantly lower(P<0.05)than those of control group,but the acetate/propionic acid was higher(P<0.0001).4.Experiment 4 mainly studied the effects of dietary addition of 3% Artemisia ordosica on nutrient digestibility and enzyme activities of digestive tract in cashmere goats.The results showed that the digestibility of EE,NDF and CP in the experimental group were significantly and tended to be significantly lower than that of the control lambs in the pre-fattening period(P=0.0001,P=0.009,P=0.088).The digestibility of CP and P of experimental lambs were significantly lower than that of the control lambs in the late period of finishing(P=0.014,P=0.020).Compared with the control group,the amylase activity in the pancreas,lipase activity in the jejunum and pancreas,and duodenal and jejunal trypsin activity of the experimental group were significantly decreased(P<0.05).5.The experiment 5 investigated the effect of 3% Artemisia ordosica on the gastrointestinal tissue structure of cashmere goat lambs.The results showed that crypts depth in duodenum,jejunum,ileum and colon in the experimental group tended to be significantly or significantly increased compared with the control group(P<0.05,P<0.10),but the V/C values of jejunum and ileum decreased(P=0.002,P=0.022).The thickness of stomach wall and retinal muscular layer and the length and width of the rumen papilla were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group(P<0.05).In conclusion,the diet supplied with 3% of Artemisia ordosica decreased fattening and slaughtering performance and inhibited rumen fermentation,as well as the number of ruminal protozoa of cashmere goat lambs.But,Artemisia ordosica reduced blood fat and cholesterol contents in cashmere goats and cholesterol concentration in longissimus dorsi muscle and adipose tissue and improved the quality of meat.