Characteristics of rumen in Naemi lamb: Morphological changes in response to altered feeding regimen

This study sought to chart the ontogenesis of rumen in Naemi lambs through histomorphometeric evaluation subjected to alfalfa hay in total mixed rations (TMR). A total of 40 growing healthy Naemi male lambs (28.85 ± 1.09 kg), at weaning (90 ± 3 days) was randomly distributed into four groups. One group was fed on TMR (control) only, while others were supplemented with restricted amount of alfalfa hay at the rate of 100 g per day (T1), 200 g once per two days (T2) and 300 g once per three days (T3) in addition to ad libitum TMR. The results indicated that body weight and dry matter intake increased significantly in treated groups. Significantly higher (P < 0.05) pH was recorded in all the treated groups after 8 h of feeding. Similarly, the brightness (L*), redness (a*) and yellowness ((b*) of rumen was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in treated groups. The papillary length, width and surface area of rumen were significantly (P < 0.05) high in alfalfa supplemented groups. Iron (Fe) concentration in rumen tissue decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in treated groups. We concluded that a dietary plan based on ad libitum TMR with the addition of alfalfa at the rate of aforementioned protocol not only enhanced feed intake and growth rate of the growing Naemi lambs but also improved the structural characteristics of the rumen.