Effects of different proportions of ground corn and steam-flaked corn diets on growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, rumen fermentation and rumen microbial metagenome of yaks

This study objected to assess the effect of substituting ground corn (GC) with steam-flaked corn (SFC) at various ratios on growth performance, serum biochemistry, rumen fermentation, and microbiome in fattening yaks. Fifty male Maiwa yaks (196.43 {+/-} 16.08 kg) were randomly assigned to five groups: SFC 0, SFC 25, SFC 50, SFC 75, and SFC 100, representing 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% substitution of GC with SFC. Results showed that the dry-matter intake (DMI) in SFC 0 group was significantly lower than those in other treatment groups (P