Effects of winter and spring housing on growth performance and blood metabolites of Pengbo semi-wool sheep in Tibet

Yan, Jin; Zhang, Xiao Qing; Badgery, Warwick; Li, Peng; Wu, Jun

doi:10.5713/ajas.18.0966

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Grazing through winter has always been problematic in China as temperatures are very low and modelling indicates that the energy costs of walking and grazing in winter greatly exceed the energy obtained from eating the dead plant material available (Zheng et al 2013;Jin et al 2019). One piece of evidence obtained for the desert steppe was that plant growth was significantly reduced in the year following heavy grazing pressure in winter, but more research is needed to identify the effects of intensity of grazing through winter on the subsequent state of various grassland types.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimising grazing for livestock production and environmental benefits in Chinese grasslands

et al. 2020

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Overgrazing has extensively degraded Chinese grasslands. A reduction in stocking rate of 30–50% below the district averages is required to increase the profitability of livestock production and protect vital ecosystem services such as mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG). Grazing experiments located in the desert steppe, typical steppe and alpine meadow verified the influence of stocking rate and grazing management on livestock production, grassland composition and associated ecosystem services. The desert steppe experiment found lower stocking rates of ~150 SE (where SE is sheep equivalent, which is a 50kg animal) grazing days ha–1 (1 SE ha–1 over 150 days) enhanced botanical composition, maintained profitable lamb growth rates and reduced GHG emissions intensity. The typical steppe experiment found moderate grazing pressure of ~400 SE grazing days ha–1 (4 SE ha–1 over 100 days) maintained higher lamb growth rates, an average herbage mass >0.5t DM ha–1 that maintained the content of Leymus chinensis above 70% and Artemisia frigida below 10% of the grassland and had the highest level of net carbon sequestration. In the alpine meadow experiment the district average stocking rate of ~16 SE ha–1 (1440 SE grazing days ha–1 over 90 days) was not too high, but extending grazing into the non-growing season had no benefit. The findings of these experiments highlight that many of the benefits to ecosystem services can be achieved with reduced stocking rates which also generate profitable levels of livestock production. In both the desert and typical steppe experiments, the results were optimal when the stocking rates were adjusted to maintain average herbage mass over summer above ~0.5t DM ha–1, whereas herbage mass was higher with the local, conservative stocking rates in the alpine meadow.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimising grazing for livestock production and environmental benefits in Chinese grasslands

et al. 2020

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“…The lower critical temperature of sheep is about −3 • C, depending on factors such as fleece length, wind speed, etc., and for every 1 • C drop from −3 • C, the daily maintenance metabolizable energy requirement of a 60 kg sheep increases by 0.14~0.64 MJ [22]. A previous study in a Tibetan winter found that the growth rate of ewes raised outdoors decreased by 28 g/d, compared with ewes raised in a shed [16]. Similarly, the ADG and feed efficiency of cattle has been reported to be lower in March, compared with a warmer April [2,3].…”

Section: Environmental Parameters Growth and Temperaturementioning

confidence: 95%

“…Keeping ewes in warm sheds during winter and spring can improve the lambing rate and the lambs' growth rates [15]. Compared to winter grazing, providing conserved feed indoors enhances their welfare, as evidenced by faster growth and better physiological and biochemical characteristics in the blood [16]. Oat hay is a suitable supplement to grazing in such conditions, as it can reverse a negative nitrogen balance and improve a sheep's energy status [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Housing on Growth, Immune Function and Antioxidant Status of Young Female Lambs in Cold Conditions

Xiao,

Guo,

Han

et al. 2024

Animals

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Cold conditions in northern China during winter may reduce sheep growth and affect their health, especially if they are young, unless housing is provided. We allocated 45 two-month-old female lambs to be housed in an enclosed building, a polytunnel, or kept outdoors, for 28 days. The daily weight gain and scalp and ear skin temperature of outdoor lambs were less than those of lambs that were housed in either a house or polytunnel; however, rectal temperature was unaffected by treatment. There was a progressive change in blood composition over time, and by the end of the experiment, outdoor lambs had reduced total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and increased malondialdehyde compared to those in the house or polytunnel. In relation to immune responses in the lambs’ serum, in the polytunnel, immunoglobulin A (IgA), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) were higher and immunoglobulin G (IgG) lower compared with the concentrations in lambs that were outdoors. Over the course of the experiment, genes expressing heat shock proteins and antioxidant enzymes increased in lambs in the outdoor treatment, whereas they decreased in lambs in the indoor treatments. It is concluded that although there were no treatment effects on core body temperature, the trends for progressive changes in blood composition and gene expression indicate that the outdoor lambs were not physiologically stable; hence, they should not be kept outdoors in these environmental conditions for long periods.

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“…The N content of diets, fresh feces, and urine samples with sulfuric acid were measured according to the methods of Kjeldahl (AOAC, 2002, method 990.03). Superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px), the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), and total antioxidant capacity (T‐AOC) were determined using a kit (Model 100T/96S, Suzhou Keming Biotechnology Co. Ltd.) and by spectrophotometry, on Microplate Reader (Model Epoch; Gene Company Limited) (Jin, Zhang, Badgery, Li, & Wu, 2019). Ruminal VFA was measured according to Capillary Gas Chromatography described by Luo et al (2015).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, 10 g of the sample was dried in a microwave oven at 900W electric power for 2 min, and then electric power was adjusted to 600W to dry to a constant weight. DM of dried sample was determined according to the AOAC ( Company Limited) (Jin, Zhang, Badgery, Li, & Wu, 2019). Ruminal VFA was measured according to Capillary Gas Chromatography described by Luo et al (2015).…”

Section: Analytical Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Allium mongolicum Regel supplementation on the digestibility, methane production, and antioxidant capacity of Simmental calves in northwest China

Xie

Wang

et al. 2020

Animal Science Journal

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Ruminant agriculture has been facing a great challenge in order to guarantee both food security and environmental issues since global climate change was viewed as one of the most serious threat to sustainability of Human being in 1960s (Swim et al., 2009). Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions have been a considerable global concern because of accelerating global warming and frequent extreme climate (Steinfeld et al., 2006). Anthropogenic methane (CH 4) is the second-largest GHG when it was converted into carbon dioxide (CO 2) equivalent (25 times of CH 4 emission) (Du, 2007). At present, livestock husbandry is one of the largest contributors to anthropogenic greenhouse gases (Slade, Riutta, Roslin, & Tuomisto, 2016), with CH 4 emissions from gastrointestinal fermentation of ruminants

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Effects of winter and spring housing on growth performance and blood metabolites of Pengbo semi-wool sheep in Tibet

Cited by 5 publications

References 23 publications

Optimising grazing for livestock production and environmental benefits in Chinese grasslands

Optimising grazing for livestock production and environmental benefits in Chinese grasslands

The Effects of Housing on Growth, Immune Function and Antioxidant Status of Young Female Lambs in Cold Conditions

Effects of Allium mongolicum Regel supplementation on the digestibility, methane production, and antioxidant capacity of Simmental calves in northwest China

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