Welcome to Acta Prataculturae Sinica ! Today is

Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (4): 197-210.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2025191

Previous Articles    

A comparative study of the growth rate, blood biochemical indexes and rumen fermentation of hybrid sheep from different breed combinations

Jin-shun ZHAN1(), Hao-yun JIANG1, Hao-bin JIA1, Hai-bo WANG1,2, Zhi-yong GU1,3, Yue PAN1,3, Xiao-jun ZHONG1, Jun-hong HUO1()   

  1. 1.Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Green and Healthy Breeding,Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine,Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Nanchang 330200,China
    2.College of Animal Science and Technology,Gansu Agricultural University,Lanzhou 730070,China
    3.College of Animal Science and Animal Medicine,Tianjin Agricultural University,Tianjin 300384,China
  • Received:2025-05-12 Revised:2025-08-07 Online:2026-04-20 Published:2026-02-07
  • Contact: Jun-hong HUO

Abstract:

This research compared the growth rate, blood biochemical indexes and rumen fermentation of hybrid sheep from different breed combinations. Ten healthy male and ten healthy female lambs with similar birth dates from offspring of Hu×Hu sheep (HH), Dorper×Hu sheep F1 generation (DH), Australian White×Hu sheep F1 generation (AH), and Charolais×Hu sheep F1 generation (XH) were selected, and their growth rate, blood biochemical indexes and rumen fermentation parameters measured. It was found that: 1) The lambing rate of ewes in the HH group was higher than that of ewes in other groups, while the weaning survival rate of hybrid lambs was higher than that of HH lambs. 2) Analysis of breed data revealed that the body weights of AH, DH and XH sheep at the age of 1, 30, 90, 180, and 360 days, as well as the average daily weight gains for the period 30 to 90 d, 1 to 9 days, 1 to 180 days and 1 to 360 days were significantly higher than those of HH sheep (P<0.01) while the body weight of AH sheep at the age of 1 day was significantly higher than that of other breeds (P<0.05). Analysis by gender showed that the body weight of male lambs at the age of 90, 180 and 360 days, as well as the average daily gain except for the period from 180 to 360 days were significantly higher than those of female lambs (P<0.01), and the body weights of DH and AH rams and ewes at the age of 180 days were significantly higher than that of HH rams and ewes (P<0.05). 3) Body height of AH and DH sheep from the age of 30 to 360 days and the body length at the age of 90 and 180 days were significantly higher than those of HH and XH sheep (P<0.01), while the body length at the age of 30 days was the opposite. Meanwhile, the chest circumference and tube circumference of HH sheep from the age of 1 to 360 days were significantly lower than those of hybrid sheep (P<0.01). With respect to gender differences in these traits, the body length, body height, chest circumference and tube circumference of rams at the age of 180 days were significantly higher than those of ewes (P<0.01). 4) With respect to gender differences in blood biochemistry, the total cholesterol (TC) content of serum in rams was significantly higher than that in ewes (P<0.05). Analysis of the interaction between breed and gender revealed that the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) content of serum in HH rams and AH ewes was significantly higher than that in other hybrid sheep (P<0.01). Analysis of breed effects on blood biochemistry indicated that the contents of serum albumin (ALB), total protein (TP) and creatinine (CRE) in HH sheep were significantly lower than those in other sheep breeds (P<0.01), and their contents in XH sheep were the highest. The contents of serum urea nitrogen (BUN) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in XH sheep were significantly higher than those in HH sheep, while the content of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in XH sheep was significantly lower than that in DH sheep (P<0.05). The serum blood glucose (GLU) content of XH and HH sheep was significantly higher than that of AH and DH sheep (P<0.01), while there were no significant differences in other indicators among different breeds of sheep (P>0.05). 5) Analysis of breed effects on rumen fermentation parameters revealed that the contents of acetic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, total volatile fatty acids and ammonia nitrogen in DH and XH sheep were significantly higher than those in HH sheep (P<0.05). The rumen isovaleric acid content in XH sheep was significantly higher than that in DH and AH sheep, while the result for valeric acid content was the opposite (P<0.01). With respect to the interaction between breed and gender, the contents of isobutyric acid and isovaleric acid in XH ewes were significantly higher than those in AH and DH ewes (P<0.05). In conclusion, the lambing rate of ewes was decreased after Hu sheep were crossbred with Australian White, Dorper and Charolais sheep, while the survival rate of hybrid lambs was increased in this experiment. The growth and development of hybrid sheep was superior to purebred Hu sheep, which may be related to promotion of rumen fermentation.

Key words: sheep, reproductive performance, growth performance, rumen fermentation, blood biochemical indexes