Rosa roxburghii tratt residue as an alternative feed for improving growth, blood metabolites, rumen fermentation, and slaughter performance in Hu sheep

The utilization of agro-industrial by-products, such as fruit residues, presents a promising strategy for providing alternative feed to ruminants amidst rising prices and limited availability of traditional roughage. In this study, we investigated the effects of tratt residue, a local fruit residue in Guizhou province of China, on the growth, blood metabolites, rumen fermentation, and slaughter performance of Hu sheep. Ninety-six sheep were randomly divided into four groups, namely control, treatment 1, treatment 2, and treatment 3, and fed diets containing 0, 10, 20, and 30% Tratt residue, respectively. Feeding varying levels of Tratt residue showed no significant differences in dry matter intake, average daily gain, or the ratio of dry matter intake to average daily gain. However, sheep in the group fed with 30% Tratt residue showed the highest gross profit. Plasma albumin content was lower in groups fed with Tratt residue-containing diets compared to the control group (