{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T20:43:55Z","timestamp":1788381835340,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]],"date-time":"2022-03-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1648598400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the Inner Mongolian Science and Technology Project (no grant number)","award":["(no grant number)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["(no grant number)"]}]},{"name":"the Tibetan Major Science and Technology Projects (XZ2021ZD0001N)","award":["XZ2021ZD0001N"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XZ2021ZD0001N"]}]},{"name":"the Special Funds for the Local Science and Technology Development of the Central Government (2020ZY0021)","award":["2020ZY0021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020ZY0021"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The effects of restricted grazing durations on the gastrointestinal development and carcass quality of growing lambs are poorly understood. In this study, 32 lambs were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 8, body weight = 21.86 kg) corresponding to 2, 4, 8 and 12 h of grazing per day. When off-pasture, all lambs were housed and fed concentrate and hay. When the grazing time decreased from 12 h to 2 h, the abomasum weight and large intestine length decreased (p = 0.019; p = 0.069). Compared to lambs grazed for 12 h, animals grazed for 2\u20134 h had a greater villus height and villus-to-crypt ratio in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum segments (p &lt; 0.05); the 2 h lambs had superior carcass quality and a smaller diameter and area of the gluteus medium muscle fibers (p &lt; 0.05), with no significant change after 4 h of grazing. The results indicated that shorter grazing times and supplementation were beneficial for the gastrointestinal tract development and carcass quality of growing lambs. Therefore, a better grazing management approach in Inner Mongolia could be to restrict the grazing of lambs to 4 h per day instead of grazing for more extended periods.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani12070878","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]],"date-time":"2022-03-30T21:22:14Z","timestamp":1648675334000},"page":"878","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Shorter Grazing Time and Supplementation Are Beneficial for Gastrointestinal Tract Development and Carcass Traits of Growing Lambs"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Yanmei","family":"Jin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Marine College, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammad","family":"Asad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Agrobiology and Plant Stress Physiology Lab., Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3334-282X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiaoqing","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, China"},{"name":"Institute of Practaculture Science, Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa 850000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jize","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot 010010, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ruizhi","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Practaculture Science, Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa 850000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"140","DOI":"10.1016\/j.livsci.2011.11.008","article-title":"Growth of sheep as affected by grazing system and grazing intensity in the steppe of Inner Mongolia, China","volume":"144","author":"Lin","year":"2012","journal-title":"Livest. 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