Effect of inclusion of tossign (Thymus serrulatus) in concentrate mix supplementation on performance and sensory quality of meat of Menz sheep

The experiment was conducted to determine feed intake, digestibility, body weight change, carcass characteristics, and sensory quality of meat of Menz sheep supplemented with a concentrate mix and combinations of different proportions of tossign (Thymus serrulatus). Twenty yearling intact male Menz sheep were divided according to their initial body weight into five blocks of four animals in a randomized block design, and treatments were assigned randomly to each sheep within each block. The treatments were a basal diet of hay alone (T1) and supplemented with 300 g concentrate mix (T2), 200 g concentrate mix + 100 g tossign (T3), and 100 g concentrate mix + 200 g tossign (T4) on a dry matter basis. The results indicated that supplementation of tossign together with concentrate mix significantly increased (P < 0.001) feed intake and improved DM and nutrient digestibility compared to the non-supplemented group. Supplementation of tossign with concentrate significantly improved (P < 0.001) daily weight gain, feed conversion efficiency, and carcass characteristics of sheep compared to the non-supplemented group. Flavor and aroma scores of meat samples of sheep in T3 and T4 were significantly higher (P < 0.001) than the corresponding values in T1 and T2. The scores for tenderness, juiciness, and degree of marbling of meat samples of sheep were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in T3 and T4 compared to meat samples of sheep in T1. Inclusion of small amounts of tossign as additive in concentrate mix supplementation can improve the sensory quality of meat of Menz sheep.