Influence of different levels of rumen content as a replacement for grass meal in compound feed on the productivity of Kazakh fine-wool sheep

This study evaluated the effects of replacing grass meal with different inclusion levels of dried rumen content on the growth performance of Kazakh fine-wool sheep. Twenty five-month-old intact male sheep (initial body weight 32.1 ± 0.20 kg) were randomly allocated to four dietary treatment groups for 60 days following a fifteen-day adaptation period. The control diet contained no rumen content, while experimental diets included 10%, 20%, and 30% dried rumen content (a mixture of cattle and sheep rumen content at a ratio of 60:40). Inclusion of rumen content at 10–20% significantly improved average daily gain and feed conversion ratio compared to the control diet (P < 0.05), whereas a 30% inclusion level reduced feed palatability and productive performance. No adverse effects on animal health were observed during the experiment. The results indicate that dried rumen content can be safely used as a partial replacement for grass meal in sheep diets at inclusion levels up to 20%.