Effects of feeding triticale hay on the production performance and feeding behavior of lamb

In order to explore the effect of triticale (× Triticale Wittmack) hay on the production performance and feeding behavior of lamb. In this study, 18 male lambs of Hu sheep were divided randomly into control group, test group Ⅰ and Ⅱ, with 6 lambs per group. The control group was fed with a standard premixed diet. The test group Ⅰ and Ⅱ were fed with 10% and 20% of triticale hay, respectively, which was replaced by an equal quantity of roughage along with a constant basal diet. The results showed that the average daily gain of lamb in test group Ⅰ was 189.72 g, which was significantly higher than that in the control group and test group Ⅱ (P < 0.05). The feed intake of lamb decreased with the increase of adding ratio. The feed intake of group Ⅱ was significantly lower than that of group Ⅰ and control group (P < 0.05), and the intake time was significantly higher than that of group Ⅰ and control group (P < 0.01). The times of excretion of lamb in group Ⅰ were significantly higher than that in control group (P < 0.05), and there was no significant difference with group Ⅱ (P > 0.05). The ruminant cycle amount, ruminant time, the number of ruminating food pellet and the total chewing times in group Ⅰ were significantly higher than those in group Ⅱ (P < 0.01). In summary, 10% was the optimal proportion of triticale hay, as a source of roughage, in the daily diet of lambs. The results will provide a theoretical basis for the development and utilization of triticale hay as forage.