Sixty neonatal Hu lambs were weaned at either 21 (n = 30) (early weaning, EW) or 49 days (n = 30) of age (control, CON). The starter intake and body weight (BW) of lambs was recorded weekly from birth to 63 days of age. Diarrhea rate of lambs was measured from birth to 35 days. Six randomly selected lambs from each treatment were slaughtered at 26, 35, and 63 days of age, respectively. Ruminal pH, NH₃-N, and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration, as well as serum parameters including immunity, antioxidant status, and inflammatory parameters from randomly selected lambs from each treatment were measured. There was no difference in BW at birth and day 21 between the two groups of lambs (p > 0.05). However, BW of the lambs in the EW group was significantly lower than those in the CON group (p < 0.01) from 28 to 49 days of age. Average daily gain (ADG) of the lambs in the EW group was significantly lower than those in the CON group (p < 0.01) at three weeks after early weaning. Starter intake of the lambs in the EW group was obviously higher than that in the CON group (p < 0.01) from day 28 to 49. In addition, the diarrhea rate was significantly higher than that in the CON group from day 5 to 14 after weaning (p < 0.01). The EW group had heavier carcasses (p < 0.01) and rumen relative to whole stomach weights (p < 0.01). Rumen pH was increased by age (p < 0.01) and was not affected by early weaning (p > 0.05). Early weaning decreased abomasum relative to whole stomach weight (p < 0.01) and increased total VFA concentrations (p < 0.01) at day 26. There was no difference in lambs’ immunity and stress indicators (p > 0.05). The results indicated that lambs weaned at 21 days of age had decreased ADG and higher diarrhea rate, although the overall immunity was not compromised. Long-term study is needed to further validate the feasibility of early weaning strategy in lambs.

Natural plant extracts and probiotics has been proved as the most preferred and effective alternatives for antibiotics in animal feeding. The current study aimed to investigate the facilitating effect of tartary buckwheat flavonoids and Lactobacillus plantarum on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, antioxidant capacity, and microbiota of weaned piglets. Fifty 35-day-old weaned piglets (7.85 ± 0.67 kg) were randomly divided into five treatments with 10 piglets per treatment. Piglets in the negative control (NC) group were fed a basal diet, and others were fed basal diets supplemented with 40 mg/kg of colistin sulfate (positive control, PC), 10⁹ CFU/kg Lactobacillus plantarum (LP), 40 mg/kg of tartary buckwheat flavonoids (BF), and a combination of 10⁹ CFU/kg Lactobacillus plantarum and 40 mg/kg of tartary buckwheat flavonoids (LB). Supplementation of BF increased the average daily gain of piglets in the BF group (p < 0.05). The nutrient digestibility of piglets in the NC group was lower than that in other groups, while the digestibility of gross energy, dry matter, organic matter, and phosphorus of piglets in the LB group was higher than the other four groups (p < 0.05). Compared with the NC and pC group, supplementation of Lp increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px), and catalase (CAT), while the BF increased the content of IgA and IgM (p < 0.05). Supplementation of colistin sulfate decreased the alpha diversity index, including chao and observed species, while the addition of Lp or combination of Lp and BF increased the abundance of Selenomonas or Mitsuokella in fecal samples, respectively. The results indicated that supplementation of Lactobacillus plantarum can improve the antioxidant capacity, while tartary buckwheat flavones can increase the growth performance and immune ability of weaned piglets. Moreover, in combination, they promote nutrient digestibility.

Weaning affects the development of ruminal bacteria in lambs during early life. However, the temporal dynamics of rumen microbiota in early weaned lambs is unknown compared to conventionally weaned lambs. In this study, one group was reared with their dams (control, CON) and conventionally weaned at 49 days (d), while the other lambs were weaned at 21 d (early weaning, EW) using starter. Rumen microbial samples collected at 26, 35, and 63 d were used for next-generation sequencing. Here, we found that the abundance and diversity of rumen microbiota in EW were significantly lower at 26 and 35 d than the CON. Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) analysis was performed to identify the signature microbiota for EW at these three ages. At 26 d, Prevotella 7, Syntrophococcus, Sharpea, Dialister, Pseudoscardovia, and Megasphaera in the rumen of the EW group had greater relative abundances. At 35 d, the Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group was enriched in CON. On 63 d, Erysipelotrichaceae_UCG-002 was abundant in EW. Syntrophococcus and Megaspheaera in EW lambs were abundant at 26 and 35 d, but kept similar to CON at 63 d. The relative abundance of Erysipelotrichaceae_UCG-002 at all-time points was consistently higher in the EW group. In conclusion, early weaning led to a significant decrease in rumen microbiota richness and diversity in the short term. The changes in rumen microbiota are associated with the persistence of weaning stress. The temporal dynamics of relative abundances of Syntrophococcus, Megasphaera, and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014 reflect the weaning stress over a short period and rumen recovery after early weaning.

Supplying sufficient nutrients, such as dietary energy and protein, has a great effect on the growth and rumen development of ruminants. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary energy and protein levels on growth performance, microbial diversity, and structural and physiological properties of the rumen in weaned lambs. A total of 64 two-month-old Hu lambs were randomly allotted to 2 × 2 factorial arrangements with four replicates and with four lambs (half male and half female) in each replicate. The first factor was two levels of dietary metabolizable energy (ME) density (ME = 10.9 MJ/Kg or 8.6 MJ/Kg), and the second factor was two levels of dietary crude protein (CP) content (CP = 15.7% or 11.8%). The trial lasted for 60 days. A low dietary energy level restrained the growth performance of lambs (p < 0.05). The ruminal concentration of acetate and the ratio of acetate to propionate increased but the propionate concentration decreased significantly with the low energy diet. However, the rumen morphology was not affected by the diet energy and protein levels. Moreover, a low energy diet increased ruminal bacterial diversity but reduced the abundance of the phylum Proteobacteria (p < 0.05) and genus Succinivibrionaceae_uncultured (p < 0.05), which was associated with the change in ruminal fermentation phenotypes. By indicator species analysis, we found three indicator OTUs in the high energy group (Succinivibrionaceae_uncultured, Veillonellaceae_unclassified and Veillonellaceae_uncultured (p < 0.01)) and two indicator OTUs in the low energy group (Bacteroidales_norank and Lachnospiraceae_uncultured (p < 0.01)). In conclusion, these findings added new dimensions to our understanding of the diet effect on rumen microbial community and fermentation response, and are of great significance for establishing the optimal nutrient supply strategy for lambs.

In agricultural production, peanut shells, as a by‐product of peanut processing, are often discarded. However, they are rich in fiber, crude protein, carbohydrates, minerals (such as calcium and phosphorus), as well as bioactive substances like polyphenols and flavonoids, thus having potential feeding value. Currently, the application potential of peanut shells in the field of animal nutrition has not been fully explored. The lack of comprehensive and systematic studies on their nutritional composition, digestive and metabolic characteristics, and optimal addition levels in different animal production systems limits the accurate evaluation and scientific application of their feeding value. In addition, different processing methods have significantly different effects on improving the nutritional components of peanut shells, and they contain anti‐nutritional factors such as phytic acid and oxalic acid, whose contents vary greatly with peanut varieties and producing areas, further increasing the complexity of evaluating their feeding value. Although relevant studies have achieved certain results, there are still many issues in the development and utilization of peanut shells that need further in‐depth exploration and optimization. This review will comprehensively evaluate the nutritional value of peanut shells, analyze in detail their conventional nutritional components, bioactive substances, and anti‐nutritional factors, so as to clarify their true value in animal nutrition. Meanwhile, it will conduct in‐depth research on the application effects of peanut shells in different livestock feeding systems. Through these studies, it aims to provide a scientific basis for the reasonable and efficient application of peanut shells in livestock feeding and offer new ideas and methods for solving the current problems of feed resource shortage and environmental issues.

The fungal culture of Acremonium terricola culture (ATC) has been extensively utilized in livestock farming systems due to its demonstrated efficacy in improving productivity and preventing disease outbreaks. However, the effects of dietary ATC supplementation on pregnant and lactating ewes and their offspring remain a critical knowledge gap requiring investigation. Therefore, this study was designed to address two primary objectives: (1) to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with ATC on production performance and hematological parameters in ewes; (2) to determine whether maternally ingested ATC can be transmitted to offspring via lactation and subsequently influence lamb growth performance. This study employed eighteen ewes randomly stratified into two groups: a basal diet control (CON, n = 9) and an experimental group receiving basal diet supplementation with 9 g of ATC per ewe daily (ATC, n = 9). The study design comprised a 115-day protocol consisting of a 10-day pre-experimental acclimatization phase with environmental parameter standardization, followed by a 105-day controlled experimental intervention period. The findings demonstrated that administration of ATC supplemented diets throughout the gestational-lactational period significantly enhanced maternal dry matter intake (DMI) and late-gestation (day 145) body mass (p < 0.05), concurrently attenuating gestational lipolysis compared with control group. Regarding lactation performance, ATC supplementation led to an increase in the average daily milk yield (0.90 vs. 0.78 kg/d), decelerated the decline rate of the lactation peak, and enhanced milk quality by boosting the percentages of milk fat, total solids (Ts), and urea content (p < 0.05). Moreover, ATC supplementation elevated serum levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), urea, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in pregnant and lactating ewes, while decreasing the interleukin-6 (IL-6) level (p < 0.05). For lambs, the supplementation of ATC in ewes’ diets significantly improved the average daily gain (ADG) during the 1–45-day nursing period (p < 0.05) and showed a trend toward increased weaning weight at 45 days of nursing (p = 0.061). Biochemically, lambs from the ATC - supplemented group exhibited significantly higher serum concentrations of urea, IgA, interleukin-4 (IL-4), catalase (CAT), SOD, and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), along with lower serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) content (p < 0.05). Maternal dietary supplementation with ATC demonstrated dual zootechnical benefits, effectively augmenting ovine productive efficiency through enhanced milk synthesis capacity, improving the immune and antioxidant levels of the body, while concurrently stimulating neonatal development of pre-weaning growth velocity.