Effects of concentrate supplementation amount on slaughter performance and organ development of Tibetan sheep

The object of this research was to investigate the effects of concentrate supplementation amount on the slaughter performance and organ development of Tibetan sheep. Forty nine-month-old Oura-type Tibetan sheep (OTTS) (plateau type) (30.21 ± 1.42) kg were selected and randomly divided into 4 groups with 10 replicates in each group. Every day 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 kg concentrate supplementation was provided for each sheep after grazing. The experiment included a 15-day pre-trial period and a 195-day trial period. The results showed that supplementary feed significantly improved the slaughter performance of OTTS (P < 0.05). The percentage of body weight of the head, skin+wool, heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, and large intestine increased, whereas the stomach, small intestine, gastrointestinal tract, and gastrointestinal contents decreased as the amount of concentrate supplementation increased (P > 0.05). The percentage of stomach contents in the total contents of the gastrointestinal tract and that of large intestine contents in the total contents of the intestinal tract increased as the amount of concentrate supplementation increased (P > 0.05). The intestinal length, proportional to body length decreased and stomach volume increased as the amount of concentrate supplement increased (P > 0.05). The preliminary results showed that supplementary feed could improve slaughter performance, stimulate organ development, and change the distribution of gastrointestinal contents of OTTS in the cold season. This study provides a theoretical basis for the development of the Tibetan sheep industry, improvement of organ development, and regulation of gastrointestinal content distribution in Tibetan sheep in high-altitude areas.