A bio-fermented vegetable tail feed for mutton sheep and its preparation method

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of feed preparation technology, and relates to a bio-fermented feed for meat sheep made from vegetable waste and its preparation method. Specifically, it includes mixing vegetable waste, crop straw, corn cobs, rapeseed meal, and cottonseed meal; preparing a bio-activated liquid by shaking and expanding a mixed bacterial solution with molasses, trace elements, and vitamins; and finally mixing the above components, spraying the bio-activated liquid, and then anaerobically fermenting to obtain the finished product. This invention, through multi-strain synergistic and tiered fermentation, effectively breaks down the cell wall structure of vegetable waste and straw, degrades anti-nutritional factors in the mixed meal, and significantly improves feed digestibility and protein utilization. The resulting feed is nutritionally balanced, palatable, and can be stored stably for a long time, realizing the high-value utilization of agricultural by-products and is suitable for widespread application in meat sheep farming.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of feed preparation technology, and relates to a biological fermentation feed of vegetable tails for meat sheep and its preparation method. Background Technology

[0002] In the sheep farming sector, feed costs account for over 70% of the total cost. Traditionally, sheep feed mainly consists of crop straw (such as corn stalks and wheat straw) combined with some concentrates (such as soybean meal and cottonseed meal). However, with the large-scale development of the livestock industry, the problems of feed resource shortages and high feed costs have become increasingly prominent. Meanwhile, my country is a major producer and consumer of vegetables, generating a large amount of vegetable waste (such as cabbage stalks, kale leaves, celery petioles, and broccoli stems and leaves) during harvesting, processing, and transportation. This waste has a high water content (usually 80-95%) and is easily perishable; traditional processing methods result in a huge waste of biomass resources. While there have been attempts to use vegetable waste as feed through simple silage, many technical bottlenecks and shortcomings remain: traditional silage relies heavily on the natural fermentation of lactic acid bacteria on the surface of the raw materials. This fermentation is uncontrollable and highly susceptible to contamination by other microorganisms (such as mold and putrefactive bacteria), leading to mold and rot. Because vegetable waste has a dense cell wall structure and is rich in cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin, it is difficult to effectively break down its cell wall structure by relying solely on natural fermentation. As a result, the abundant juice, sugar and soluble nutrients inside the cells cannot be fully released and utilized, and are instead lost with moisture during the stacking process, resulting in low nutritional value of the feed.

[0003] While conventional straw feed is widely available, it is highly lignified, high in crude fiber, and structurally stable. As ruminants, sheep can partially degrade fiber through rumen microorganisms, but untreated straw remains in the rumen for a long time with a low degradation rate, leading to decreased feed intake and slow weight gain. Current technologies, such as simple physical crushing or ammoniation, have limited impact on fiber structure and cannot fundamentally improve digestibility, failing to meet the high energy demands of sheep, especially fattening sheep.

[0004] To reduce feed costs, a certain amount of cottonseed meal, rapeseed meal, and other miscellaneous meals are often added to feed. However, these meals contain various anti-nutritional factors such as free gossypol, glucosinolates, tannins, and phytic acid. Free gossypol can affect the animal's reproductive system and immune function; the degradation products of glucosinolates can damage the liver and kidneys; and tannins can affect protein digestion and absorption. Although traditional heat treatment or washing methods can partially detoxify, the effect is limited, and they also cause the loss of nutrients such as protein, resulting in a decrease in the biological value of protein in the feed, making it impossible for sheep to efficiently convert it into body protein.

[0005] Existing fermented feed technologies often employ single-strain or simple compound-strain fermentation, resulting in weak microbial synergy. In the early stages of fermentation, it is difficult to quickly establish a dominant microbial community to suppress contaminating bacteria. During fermentation, acid production is slow, and pH levels decrease gradually, easily leading to fermentation failure or uneven feed quality. Furthermore, single-microbial systems have limited capacity to decompose complex substrates, failing to adequately degrade cellulose and anti-nutritional factors, and also struggling to generate sufficient flavor compounds, resulting in poor feed palatability and impacting feed intake in sheep. Current technologies typically process straw or tailings separately, lacking a systematic approach to compounding various agricultural byproducts. The resulting feed often has a limited nutritional profile, an unbalanced energy-to-protein ratio, and deficiencies in trace elements and vitamins, increasing farming costs. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the above problems, this invention provides a bio-fermented feed for meat sheep made from vegetable tails and its preparation method, specifically including the following steps: Step 1: Collect fresh vegetable scraps and crush them into coarse pieces of 8-12mm. Crop straw should be crushed to 1-2cm.

[0007] Preferably, the vegetable tail includes one or more of the following: highland summer vegetables, Chinese cabbage stalks (leaves), cabbage leaves (stems), celery petioles, and lettuce leaves.

[0008] Step two: Mix corn cobs, rapeseed meal, and cottonseed meal in a mass ratio of (3-5):(2-4):(1-3), and condition with steam at 65-75℃ to achieve a moisture content of 18-22% and a temperature of 50-55℃. Add compound microbial powder to the material at a dosage of 0.2-0.3% of the total mass. Stir at 40-45℃ and 50-60 rpm for 10-20 minutes, and ferment at 30-35℃, 85-90% RH, and 18-21% oxygen content for 48-60 hours. During fermentation, Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus licheniformis work synergistically to secrete large amounts of acidic protease, neutral protease, and keratinase, which degrade large protein molecules into small peptides and free amino acids. At the same time, they degrade anti-nutritional factors such as gossypol and glucosinolates in cottonseed meal and rapeseed meal. After fermentation, the material is dried at 60-65℃ until the moisture content is ≤12%, then pulverized through a 50-70 mesh sieve to obtain the protein source. The content of small peptides in this component is significantly increased, while the content of antigen protein is greatly reduced.

[0009] Preferably, the compound bacterial powder includes Aspergillus oryzae powder and Bacillus licheniformis powder in a mass ratio of (1-2):(1-3).

[0010] Step 3: Mix molasses, compound trace elements, compound vitamins and water, stir at 50-55℃ and 120-150rpm for 10-15 minutes, cool to 30-35℃, then add the mixed bacterial solution, and culture at 28-32℃ and 60-100rpm for 6-8 hours to obtain the bio-activated solution.

[0011] Preferably, the mass ratio of molasses, complex trace elements, complex vitamins, mixed bacterial solution and water is (200-300):(1-2):(2-5):(50-100):1000.

[0012] Most preferably, the composite trace elements include ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate and sodium selenite, in a mass ratio of (8-12):(5-7):(3-5):(1-3):(0.1-0.2).

[0013] Most preferably, the multivitamin includes one or more of fat-soluble vitamins and B vitamins. The fat-soluble vitamins include one or more of vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K.

[0014] Most preferably, the mixed bacterial solution is water-based and comprises (4-6) × 10 8 CFU / mL of Candida utilis and (0.8-1.2)×10 9 Lactobacillus plantarum CFU / mL.

[0015] Step 4: Mix the pretreated vegetable waste, high-fiber energy components, and protein source at 32-35℃ and 30-50 rpm for 10-15 minutes. Spray the bio-activating liquid onto the surface of the material and continue mixing for 15-20 minutes. Perform anaerobic fermentation at 25-32℃ for 7-10 days. In the early stage of fermentation (1-3 days), *Lactobacillus plantarum* proliferates rapidly, utilizing the residual sugar in the material and the nutrients in the functional activation liquid to produce a large amount of lactic acid, causing the pH value to drop rapidly to below 4.2. In the middle stage of fermentation (4-7 days), *Candida utilis* continues to grow in a slightly acidic environment, using lactic acid and a small amount of cellulose degradation products to synthesize yeast protein, while also producing aromatic substances. In the later stage of fermentation (8-10 days), the metabolism of various microorganisms tends to be balanced, and macromolecular fibers are further degraded by residual enzyme systems. The feed forms a stable acidified system and a rich alcohol and ester aroma, yielding the finished product of vegetable waste bio-fermented feed. This feed can be used directly to feed meat sheep or mixed with the basal diet before feeding meat sheep.

[0016] Preferably, the mass ratio of the pretreated vegetable waste, high-fiber energy components, protein source and bio-activating liquid is (350-450):(300-400):(150-250):(100-150).

[0017] The present invention has the following advantages: (1) This invention achieves synergistic detoxification and protein upgrading of various miscellaneous meals through an "aerobic solid-state fermentation" process, greatly improving the biological value of the protein. This invention scientifically blends rapeseed meal and cottonseed meal, and uses Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus licheniformis for synergistic solid-state fermentation. Compared with existing technologies that treat single miscellaneous meals or simply mix them, its significant advantages are: Highly efficient degradation of anti-nutritional factors: The complex bacterial strain of Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus licheniformis can secrete a variety of complex enzyme systems, including acidic proteases, neutral proteases, and keratinases. These enzymes not only efficiently degrade large protein molecules, but more importantly, they can specifically act on the chemical structure of anti-nutritional factors such as gossypol and glucosinolates, decomposing or converting them into non-toxic substances. This process significantly reduces the toxicity of cottonseed meal and rapeseed meal, making them safe and readily applicable in large quantities to sheep feed, broadening the sources of protein raw materials and effectively reducing feed costs.

[0018] Significantly increased small peptide content: Under the synergistic effect of two microorganisms, the macromolecular antigenic proteins in the raw materials are deeply enzymatically hydrolyzed, generating a large number of small peptides and free amino acids. These small peptides can be directly absorbed and utilized by sheep, exhibiting not only rapid absorption and low energy consumption, but also multiple physiological functions such as immune regulation and growth promotion. Therefore, compared with directly using unfermented meal, the protein source components of this invention, while maintaining a comparable protein content, demonstrate significantly improved digestibility and physiological functionality.

[0019] (2) This invention provides a powerful microbial driving force and nutritional supplement for the final fermentation by designing a special "bio-activation liquid," ensuring the stability of fermentation quality. This invention does not simply mix the strains into the material; instead, it pre-prepares a bio-activation liquid rich in Candida utilis and Lactobacillus plantarum, and supplements it with molasses, trace elements, and vitamins for expansion. Its significant effects are: Highly active microorganisms and rapid colonization: Through shaking propagation, the yeast and lactic acid bacteria in the mixed bacterial solution are "activated" under suitable nutrients and environment, resulting in a significant increase in cell count and enhanced metabolic activity. When this highly active activating solution is sprayed onto the material, the functional bacteria can quickly occupy their ecological niche, rapidly initiate fermentation, and establish a growth advantage, thereby ensuring that the entire 7-10 day anaerobic fermentation process is stable and controllable, free from interference by other microorganisms.

[0020] Balanced nutrition and vigorous metabolism: The molasses added to the activation solution provides a readily available carbon source for microorganisms, while trace elements and vitamins are essential cofactors for microbial growth and metabolism. This ensures that yeast and lactic acid bacteria maintain vigorous metabolic activity throughout the fermentation cycle. Lactic acid bacteria continuously produce acid, rapidly lowering the pH value to below 4.5, forming a stable acidic preservation environment; Candida utilis then utilizes lactic acid and fiber degradation products to synthesize cell protein and produce aromatic substances such as esters and alcohols in the later stages.

[0021] Quality Improvement: Thanks to thorough pretreatment and stable fermentation, the final feed develops a stable acidification system and a rich aroma of alcohols and esters. These excellent sensory characteristics significantly improve palatability, stimulating sheep's appetite and increasing feed intake. Simultaneously, yeast cell protein itself is a high-quality protein source, further enhancing the overall nutritional value of the final product. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the invention are described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] Example 1

[0024] raw material: Compound bacterial powder: Aspergillus oryzae powder and Bacillus licheniformis powder, with a mass ratio of 2:3.

[0025] The complex trace elements consist of ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, and sodium selenite, in a mass ratio of 10:6:4:2:0.15.

[0026] Multivitamin: Vitamin A, Vitamin B, and Vitamin D in a mass ratio of 1:1:1.

[0027] Mixed bacterial solution: water-based, comprising 5 × 10 8 CFU / mL Candida utilis and 1×10 9 Lactobacillus plantarum CFU / mL.

[0028] Specific steps: Step 1: Collect fresh highland summer vegetable tails, crush the highland summer vegetable tails into coarse pieces of 8-12mm, and crush the crop straw to 1-2cm to obtain pre-treated vegetable tails and high fiber energy components. Step two: Mix corn cobs, rapeseed meal, and cottonseed meal in a mass ratio of 4:3:2, and condition with steam at 70℃ to achieve a moisture content of 20% and a temperature of 52℃. Add compound microbial powder to the material at 0.25% of the total mass. Stir at 43℃ and 55 rpm for 15 minutes, and ferment at 31℃, 86% RH, and 20% oxygen content for 54 hours. After fermentation, dry the material at 62℃ to a moisture content of 9%, and pulverize it through a 60-mesh sieve to obtain the protein source.

[0029] Step 3, the mass ratio of molasses, compound trace elements, compound vitamins, mixed bacterial solution and water is 250:1.5:3:75:1000.

[0030] Mix molasses, complex trace elements, complex vitamins and water, stir at 52℃ and 135 rpm for 11 min, cool to 32℃, then add the mixed bacterial solution, and culture at 30℃ and 70 rpm for 7 h to obtain the bio-activated solution.

[0031] Step four: The mass ratio of pretreated vegetable waste, high-fiber energy components, protein source and bio-activating solution is 400:350:200:120.

[0032] The pretreated vegetable tails, high-fiber energy components and protein source were mixed at 33°C and 40 rpm for 12 minutes. The bio-activating liquid was sprayed onto the surface of the material and mixed for another 18 minutes. The mixture was then anaerobic fermented at 30°C for 9 days to obtain the finished product of bio-fermented feed made from highland summer vegetable tails.

[0033] Experimental Example 1 Fifty-four six-month-old male Oula sheep of similar weight and good condition were randomly divided into three groups, with three replicates per group and six sheep per replicate. The control group was fed a basal diet, while experimental group 1 was fed an experimental diet consisting of 85% basal diet and 15% of the fermented highland summer vegetable tails prepared in Example 1, and experimental group 2 was fed an experimental diet consisting of 70% basal diet and 30% of the fermented highland summer vegetable tails prepared in Example 1. The pre-feeding period was 7 days, and the trial period was 60 days. Feeding was done twice a day (08:00 and 17:00), with free access to feed and water. Feed intake was recorded weekly. During the feeding period, growth performance (initial weight, final weight, average daily weight gain, dry matter intake, feed conversion ratio), apparent digestibility (dry matter, crude protein, crude fat, crude ash, acid-washed fiber, neutral detergent fiber), economic benefits (weight gain, weight gain revenue, feed intake, feed cost and gross profit) and mutton quality (pH value, brightness, redness, yellowness, shear strength, lean meat percentage and marbling) were statistically analyzed. The results are shown in Table 2-5.

[0034] The feed formulation was carried out in accordance with the "Standards for Meat Sheep Feeding" (NY / T816-2004). The feed composition and nutrient levels are shown in Table 1.

[0035] Table 1. Composition and nutrient levels of the experimental diets (air-dried basal basis)

[0036] Table 2. Effects of fermented summer vegetable waste from highland areas on sheep growth performance.

[0037] Note: Data in the same row with no letter or containing the same letter indicates no significant difference (P>0.05), while different letters indicate significant difference (P<0.05). The same applies to the table below.

[0038] Table 3. Effects of fermented summer vegetable tail feed on nutrient digestibility in sheep.

[0039] Table 4 Economic Benefit Analysis

[0040] Table 5. Effects of fermented summer vegetable waste from highland areas on mutton quality.

[0041] As shown in Table 2, compared with the control group, the ADG in the experimental group 1 was significantly increased by 13.6% ( P <0.05); in the experimental group 2, the final weight, ADG, and DMI significantly increased by 8.93%, 30.68%, and 1.33%, respectively. P <0.05), F / G decreased significantly by 12.8% ( P <0.05), the digestibility of DM, CP, EE and NDF in the experimental group 1 was significantly increased by 6.4%, 2.1%, 2.6% and 5.5%, respectively. P <0.05), and the digestibility of other nutrients showed no significant change ( P >0.05); in experimental group 2, the digestibility of DM, CP, and NDF was significantly increased by 4.9%, 2.3%, and 7.5%, respectively. P <0.05), and the digestibility of other nutrients showed no significant change ( P >0.05), the weight gain, weight gain revenue, and gross profit of experimental group 1 increased significantly by 30.5%, 30.7%, and 85.3%, respectively. P <0.05%, feed intake and feed costs decreased significantly by 1.7% and 7.7%, respectively. P <0.05); In experimental group 2, weight gain, weight gain revenue, and gross profit increased significantly by 29.5%, 29.5%, and 72.5%, respectively. P <0.05%, significantly reducing feed intake by 9.7% ( P <0.05), the shear force in experimental group 1 decreased significantly by 24.3% (P <0.05), brightness, redness, cooked meat percentage, and marbling score significantly increased by 4.0%, 27.8%, 5.5%, and 125.6%, respectively. P <0.05); in experimental group 2, pH value and shear force decreased significantly by 4.2% and 26.1%, respectively. P <0.05), brightness, redness, yellowness, cooked meat percentage, and marbling score significantly increased by 15.2%, 12.3%, 31.7%, 10.6%, and 150.4%, respectively. P <0.05).

[0042] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for preparing a bio-fermented feed of vegetable tails for meat sheep, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Collect fresh vegetable waste and crop stalks, and crush them into coarse pieces to obtain pre-treated vegetable waste and high-fiber energy components. Step 2: Mix corn cobs, rapeseed meal and cottonseed meal in a mass ratio of (3-5):(2-4):(1-3), add compound microbial powder at a rate of 0.2-0.3% of the total mass of materials, stir, and ferment at 30-35℃, 85-90%RH and 18-21% oxygen content for 48-60 hours to obtain protein source; Step 3: Mix the compound trace elements, compound vitamins and water, then add the mixed bacterial solution, shake and expand to obtain the bio-activated solution; the mass ratio of molasses, compound trace elements, compound vitamins, mixed bacterial solution and water is (200-300):(1-2):(2-5):(50-100):1000; Step 4: Mix and stir the pretreated vegetable waste, high-fiber energy components and protein source, spray the bio-activating liquid onto the surface of the material in the form of a spray, continue mixing and stirring, and anaerobic ferment at room temperature for 7-10 days to obtain the finished product of vegetable waste bio-fermented feed; the mass ratio of the pretreated vegetable waste, high-fiber energy components, protein source and bio-activating liquid is (350-450):(300-400):(150-250):(100-150).

2. The method for preparing a bio-fermented vegetable tail feed for mutton sheep according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vegetable scraps mentioned in step one include one or more of the following: cabbage stalks, cabbage leaves, kale leaves, kale stems, celery petioles, and lettuce leaves.

3. The method for preparing a bio-fermented vegetable tail feed for mutton sheep according to claim 1, characterized in that, The compound bacterial powder mentioned in step two includes Aspergillus oryzae powder and Bacillus licheniformis powder, with a mass ratio of (1-2):(1-3).

4. The method for preparing a bio-fermented vegetable tail feed for mutton sheep according to claim 1, characterized in that, The composite trace elements mentioned in step three include ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate and sodium selenite, with a mass ratio of (8-12):(5-7):(3-5):(1-3):(0.1-0.2).

5. The method for preparing a bio-fermented vegetable tail feed for mutton sheep according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multivitamin mentioned in step three includes one or more of fat-soluble vitamins and B vitamins.

6. The method for preparing a bio-fermented vegetable tail feed for mutton sheep according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fat-soluble vitamins include one or more of vitamins A, D, E, and K.

7. The method for preparing a bio-fermented vegetable tail feed for mutton sheep according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mixed bacterial solution described in step three is water-based and comprises (4-6) × 10 8 CFU / mL of Candida utilis and (0.8-1.2)×10 9 Lactobacillus plantarum CFU / mL.

8. Vegetable tail bio-fermented feed for mutton sheep prepared by the method according to any one of claims 1-7.

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