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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (5): 178-189.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2021128

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Effect of a Chinese medicine formula on the performance and physiological and blood biochemical parameters of hybrid Small-Tail Han sheep under heat stress

Juan-juan ZHAO1(), Da-lu CHE1, Wei-ting GUO2, Wei-tao ZHANG3, Lian-chao LIU4, Li-chen ZHAO1, Yu-hong GAO1(), Xin-sheng SUN5(), Xue-mei LI1(), Yuan WANG6   

  1. 1.College of Animal Science and Technology,Hebei Agricultural University,Baoding 071001,China
    2.Animal Husbandry Technology Extension Station of Shijiazhuang,Shijiazhuang 050035,China
    3.Animal Husbandry Station of Hebei,Shijiazhuang 050035,China
    4.College of Veterinary Medicine,Hebei Agricultural University,Baoding 071001,China
    5.College of Information Science and Technology,Hebei Agricultural University,Baoding 071001,China
    6.Hebei Mutton Sheep Industry Technology Research Institute,Hengshui 053000,China
  • Received:2021-04-07 Revised:2021-05-17 Online:2022-05-20 Published:2022-03-30
  • Contact: Yu-hong GAO,Xin-sheng SUN,Xue-mei LI

Abstract:

Fattening sheep often suffer from heat stress. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a traditional Chinese medicine formula on the production performance, physiological parameters, and blood biochemical parameters of hybrid sheep (Small-Tail Han sheep×Inner Mongolian Fine Wool sheep) under heat stress. Four Chinese herbal medicines: Elsholtzia ciliataRheum palmatumMagnolia officinalis, and Scutellaria baicalensis, were mixed at a ratio of 3∶3∶2∶2. The experiment included 240 hybrid late-sheep (average weight, 36.6±0.73 kg), which were randomly assigned to four groups: the control (no formula) and three formula-fed groups (diets containing 0.5%, 1.0%, or 1.5% of the formula on a dry matter basis). Each treatment group consisted of 60 sheep. The experiment lasted for 28 days, during which the temperature and humidity index in the shed averaged 79.68. The main results were as follows: 1) Compared with the control group, the formula-fed groups showed a significantly lower respiratory rate (P<0.05) and more time lying, particularly in the period from 12:00 to 16:00. The proportion of time lying was 13.38% to 19.15% higher in the formula-fed groups than in the control group. 2) In terms of production performance, the average daily feed intake was 1.05% to 7.21% higher in the three formula-fed groups than in the control (P<0.05), and the average daily gain (ADG) was also significantly higher in the formula-fed groups than in the control (P<0.05). Among the three formula-fed groups, the 0.5% formula group showed the highest ADG (12.12% higher than that of the control) and lowest feed-to-weight ratio (F/G) (14.68% lower than that of the control) (P<0.05). 3) The sheep in the formula-fed groups showed increased thyroxine (T4) levels and decreased cortisol (COR) levels, compared with those in the control (P<0.05). In the 0.5% formula group, the T4 concentration was 13.97% higher than that in the control (P<0.05), and the COR concentration was 33.15% lower than that in the control (P<0.05). There were significant differences (P<0.05) in urea nitrogen (BUN) and glucose (GLU) concentrations in serum between all the groups. Compared with the control group, the 0.5% formula group showed higher GLU (P<0.01) and lower BUN (P<0.05) concentrations in serum. 4) An economic benefit analysis showed that the benefit from weight gain increased by 7.50% to 13.91% as the dietary intake of the formula increased from 0.5% to 1.5%, and the largest net benefit was in the 0.5% formula group (4.85 yuan·d-1·sheep-1). In summary, this Chinese medicine formula effectively alleviated heat stress in hybrid Small-Tail Han sheep, and its inclusion at 0.5% of the diet had the best results.

Key words: traditional Chinese medicine, heat stress, fattening sheep, body weight gain, biochemical parameter, blood biochemical parameter