Effects of Dietary Protein Levels on Production Performance, Meat Quality Traits, and Gut Microbiome of Fatting Dezhou Donkeys

Summary

This study investigates the effect of varying dietary protein levels on fattening Dezhou donkeys, a breed of significance to Chinese livestock production. It examines interactions between protein nutrition, production efficiency, meat quality, and the gut microbiome, contributing to a growing body of evidence on how diet shapes microbial communities in equids. The findings are likely to inform optimised feeding strategies for donkey production systems, with implications for both animal performance and product quality.

UK applicability

Dezhou donkeys and intensive donkey fattening systems are not characteristic of UK livestock practice, where donkeys are rarely kept for meat production. However, the methodological approach linking dietary protein to gut microbiome composition and meat quality may offer transferable insights for equine nutrition research in the UK context.

Key measures

Average daily gain (g/day); feed conversion ratio; carcass yield (%); meat quality traits (pH, tenderness, colour, moisture content); gut microbial diversity indices (e.g. Shannon index, OTU richness); relative abundance of key bacterial taxa

Outcomes reported

The study measured production performance indicators, meat quality traits, and gut microbiome composition in Dezhou donkeys fed diets varying in crude protein content. It likely reports on growth rate, feed conversion, carcass characteristics, and shifts in microbial diversity and abundance associated with different protein levels.

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