Effect of different energy level diets on serum biochemical index and rumen microflora of Gobi Short-tail pregnant ewe.

The experiment was to explore the effect of different energy level diets on growth performance, serum biochemical index, rumen fermentation parameters and rumen microflora of Gobi Short-tail pregnant ewe. Sixty healthy Gobi Short-tail pregnant ewes with similar age, body condition and weight (43.64 ± 2.19) kg were selected and randomly divided into three groups, with four replicates in each group and five ewes in each replicate. Ewes in each group were fed diets with different energy levels. The metabolic energy of control group was 7.98 MJ/kg. Metabolic energy of test group 1 was 6.37 MJ/kg. The metabolic energy of test group 2 was 4.77 MJ/kg. The pre trial period was 15 d, and the trial period was 45 d. The results showed that the final weight and average daily gain of ewes in test group 2 were extremely lower than those in other two groups (P<0.01). The serum ALB content of ewes in test group 1 and test group 2 was significantly lower than that in control group (P<0.05), the serum BUN content was extremely lower than that in control group (P<0.01), and ALT activity of ewes in test group 2 was significantly higher than that in other groups (P<0.05). The rumen ammonia nitrogen content of ewes in test group 1 and test group 2 was extremely lower than that in control group (P<0.01). The relative abundances of Bacteroides, Verrucomicrobiota and Rikenellaceae in rumen of test group 1 and test group 2 were extremely higher than those in control group (P<0.01), the relative abundances of Erysipelotrichaceae UCG-002 were extremely lower than those in control group (P<0.01), and the relative abundances of Firmicutes and Prevotella were significantly lower than those in control group (P<0.05). Rumen Bacteroides of ewes in test group 1 were extremely lower than those in other two groups (P<0.01). The study indicates that proper reduction of dietary energy level can ensure the normal life activities of pregnant ewes, reduce the feeding cost of shed feeding in winter and spring, improve the breeding efficiency of farmers and herdsmen, excessive reduction of dietary energy level will have a negative impact on pregnant ewes to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]