Effects of Different Levels of Maize bran on microbial population, rumen and blood parameters and nitrogen retention in Dalagh ewes

In order to investigate the effect of using different levels of maize bran on microbial population, rumen and blood parameters and nitrogen retention in Dalagh ewes, 20 ewes in Third parturition with a mean weight of 36.3 ± 3.7 kg were used. This experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments and five replications. The treatments consisted of: first treatment (without maize bran), second treatment (containing 7 percent maize bran), third treatment (containing 14 percent maize bran) and fourth treatment (containing 21 percent maize bran). The results of this experiment showed that using different levels of maize bran in ewes had no significant effect on ruminal protozoan and microbial population (P >0.05). The experimental treatments did not affect ruminal pH in fasting, three and six hours after morning feeding (P>0.05). Ammonia concentration in rumen fluid in third treatment were significantly higher than other treatments (p < 0.05). There were no significant difference in blood glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, urea, total protein, albumin and globulin levels between treatments (P >0.05), Also, there were no significant difference between treatments in nitrogen intake, urine excretion nitrogen, excretion of nitrogen in faeces and apparent restoration of nitrogen (P>0.05). In general, this study showed that there is no significant difference between treatments receiving maize bran with different levels and control treatment in terms of rumen parameters, blood parameters and nitrogen retention. In conclusion, corn bran up to 21% can be used in sheep ration without any negative effect