Effects of supplemental level of palm meal on the growth and development of plateau Tibetan sheep

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of adding different proportions of palm kernel cake into the diet of plateau Tibetan sheep; the corresponding growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, and serum biochemical indices were assessed in these sheep. A total of 120 healthy Tibetan ewes with similar weights (18.39 ± 1.25) kg were randomly divided into 4 groups, with 30 replicates per group and 6 ewes per replicates; the ewes were then fed with a 0% (group A), 15% (group B), 18% (group C), or 21% (group C) palm kernel cake diet. The pre-feeding period spanned across 7 days and the formal evaluation period lasted for 90 days. The corresponding results showed that: 1) Compared with group A, the final body weight and average daily weight gain of group D was significantly lower (P < 0.05), whereas the ratio of feed to weight exhibited a contrasting trend ( P < 0.05). Additionally, compared with group A, the chest circumference of group C was significantly higher ( P < 0.05). 2) Regarding apparent digestibility of nutrients, the amount of dry matter, crude protein, crude ash, and neutral detergent fiber in group C was significantly higher than those in group A ( P < 0.05); however, there was no significant difference observed between group C and group D ( P > 0.05). 3) For serum biochemistry analysis, the amount of albumin and total protein in groups A and group C were significantly higher than those in group B and group D ( P < 0.05); additionally, there was no significant difference observed between group A and group C ( P > 0.05). Conclusion: Overall, it was determined that it is feasible to add 18% palm kernel cake as a dietary supplement for plateau Tibetan sheep under experimental conditions.