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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (6): 190-201.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2025240

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Effects of supplemental feeds with different energy contents on the productive performance, blood biochemical indices, and ruminal microbial community of growing yaks

Jian-bo ZHANG1(), Lei WANG1,2(), Qiang-long ZHANG1, Pei-lin YE3, Wei-hua HUANG1, Fu-nian ZHANG4, Rong LI4, Yong SHI5   

  1. 1.College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine,Qinghai University,Xining 810016,China
    2.Qinghai Plateau Key Laboratory of Livestock Genetic Resources Conservation and Innovative Utilization,Xining 810016,China
    3.Haidong City Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center,Haidong 810600,China
    4.Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station of Minhe Hui and Tu Autonomous County,Minhe 810800,China
    5.Beishan Township Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station of Minhe Hui and Tu Autonomous County,Minhe 810800,China
  • Received:2025-06-16 Revised:2025-09-09 Online:2026-06-20 Published:2026-04-13
  • Contact: Lei WANG

Abstract:

This study aimed to investigate the effects of supplemental feeds with different energy levels on the growth rate of yaks. A total of 27 one-year-old yaks with similar initial body weights were randomly divided into three groups, with nine yaks per group. The three groups were fed concentrate feeds with low (LG), medium (MG), and high (HG) energy levels. The pre-feeding period lasted for 7 days, followed by a formal feeding period of 110 days. The production performance, blood biochemical indices, and rumen microbial communities of growing yaks were measured during the growth period. The results show that: 1) At the end of the trial, there were no significant differences in final body weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake among the LG, MG, and HG groups (P>0.05). However, compared with the initial body weight, the final body weight of yaks in the LG, MG, and HG groups was increased by 79.91%, 82.27%, and 86.16%, respectively. 2) The concentrations of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1, and insulin-like growth factor 2 in serum were significantly higher in the HG group than in the LG group (P<0.05), whereas the total antioxidant capacity in serum was significantly lower in the HG group than in the LG group (P<0.05). Other serum biochemical indicators tended to increase with increasing energy levels in the diet but the differences among the three groups were not significant (P>0.05). 3) There was no significant difference in the alpha and beta diversity of rumen microbial communities among the three groups. However, taxa such as AtopobiumUCG-005Lachnospiraceae_UCG-008, and Eubacterium were significantly enriched in the rumen of the HG group (P<0.05), and microbial communities dominated by norank_o_Clostridia_UCG-014 and Prevotellaceae_UCG-001 were significantly enriched in the rumen of the LG group (P<0.05). 4) Mantel tests revealed that the abundance of Succiniclasticum in the rumen was significantly negatively correlated with the total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the blood (P<0.05), and the abundance of Xylanibacter was significantly negatively correlated with the non-esterified fatty acid concentration in the blood (P<0.05). The results of this study indicate that increasing the energy level of concentrated feed can increase the levels of hormones such as growth hormone and enhance the diversity of rumen microbial communities, thereby improving the growth rate of yaks.

Key words: growth period, confined yaks, supplemental feed, productive performance, rumen microbiota