. 2018 Mar 27;9:574. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00574

Table 3.

Phenotypic variables in Hu lambs of the groups with (S-ALF) or without (STA) alfalfa intervention at different ages.

Items¹	B-10	17	24	38	45	66	SEM²	P-value²	17	24	38	45	66	SEM³	P-value³
		STA (d)							S-ALF (d)
CP intake, g	19.57	25.30	20.96	81.80	54.29	126.85	8.630	<0.001	24.82	24.34	107.26^∗	102.25^∗	154.59^∗	10.504	<0.001
NDF intake, g	3.85	6.33	6.37	54.03	85.33	197.08	15.242	<0.001	6.35	11.49	80.49^∗	162.77^∗	244.49^∗	19.211	<0.001
Initial BW, kg	3.10	3.64	3.68	3.62	3.99	3.90	0.151	0.913	3.65	3.08	3.88	3.79	4.16	0.134	0.140
End BW, kg	3.10	3.80	3.95	6.18	7.05	12.18	0.679	<0.001	3.80	3.41	7.38	8.76	15.21^∗	0.885	<0.001
ADG, kg	–	0.054	0.005	0.182	0.034	0.280	0.026	<0.001	0.050	0.032	0.251^∗	0.183^∗	0.268	0.022	<0.001
Rumen papillae
Length, mm	0.383	0.508	0.484	1.474	1.028	1.329	0.086	<0.001	0.431	0.587^∗	1.681	1.311^∗	1.626^∗	0.108	<0.001
Width, mm	0.171	0.209	0.226	0.268	0.207	0.234	0.011	0.311	0.208	0.233	0.323^∗	0.209	0.251	0.013	0.006
BHBA, μmol/L	52.8	344.3	236.0	241.2	400.4	471.4	30.036	0.032	142.8	133.7	339.7	789.8^∗	560.0	65.031	<0.001

¹CP, crude protein; NDF, neutral detergent fiber; Initial BW, body weight at d10; End BW, body weight before sacrifice; ADG, average daily gain; BHBA, β-hydroxybutyrate. ²SEM and P-value of the STA group from d17 to 66. ³SEM and P-value of the S-ALF group from d17 to 66. ^∗Indicates that the item was significantly different in the S-ALF group (P ≤ 0.05) when compared to the same age of the STA group.