Abstract
The shortage of high-quality coarse feed resources is the main factor that restricts the development of animal husbandry in many developing countries. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of replacing corn silage with daylily silage on the growth performance, slaughter performance, blood biochemical indicators, meat quality, and muscle amino acid composition of Tan sheep. A total of 72 healthy Tan sheep were randomly assigned to four groups. In each group, 0%, 20%, 40%, and 60% of corn silage were replaced with daylily silage (denoted as CON, HC20, HC40, and HC60, respectively). Tan sheep fed with daylily silage showed no significant adverse effects on their growth performance, meat quality, and muscle amino acid composition (p > 0.05). Some increase was observed in the carcass fat content value (GR-value, p < 0.05), thickness of backfat (p < 0.05), and the blood urea level (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that the utilization of daylily silage instead of whole-plant corn silage has no adverse effects on the growth performance and meat quality of Tan sheep, thus indicating that it can partially replace whole-plant corn feed as a feed resource for Tan sheep.