Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T23:13:48.030Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Effects upon the intake and performance of store lambs of supplementing grass silage with barley, fish meal and rapeseed meal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

K. Yilala
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Reading RG6 2AT
M. J. Bryant
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Reading RG6 2AT
Get access

Abstract

Two experiments are described in which individually-penned Suffolk × (Blue-faced Leicester × Swaledale) lambs were given complete diets based on grass silage, and voluntary intake, live-weight gain and nitrogen (N) retention were measured.

Experiment 1 investigated the effects of supplements of fish meal (0, 60 and 120 g/kg diet dry matter (DM)) and barley (0, 150 and 300 g/kg diet DM) in a 3 × 3 design using 72 lambs. The lambs averaged 35 kg live weight at the start of the 47-day experiment. Fish-meal supplements increased daily intakes of diet DM, silage DM and metabolizable energy (ME), and improved daily gains, carcass weights and N retention. Barley supplements increased daily intakes of diet DM and ME, but reduced silage DM intake; live-weight gain, carcass weight and N retention were all improved.

Experiment 2 investigated the effects of supplements of rapeseed meal (0 and 120 g/kg diet DM) in two forms (untreated and formaldehyde-treated) and barley (0 and 150 g/kg diet DM) in a 2 × 2 × 2 design with two missing treatments and using 48 lambs. The lambs averaged 39 kg live weight at the start of the 42-day experiment. Rapeseed meal supplements increased daily intakes of diet DM, silage DM and ME, and improved daily gains, carcass weights and N retention. Form of rapeseed meal had no effect. Barley increased diet DM and ME intakes and improved daily gains and carcass weights.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agricultural Research Council. 1980. The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough.Google Scholar
Barry, T. N., Fennessy, P. F. and Duncan, S. J. 1973. Effect of formaldehyde treatment on the chemical composition and nutritive value of silage. III. Voluntary intake, live-weight gain, and wool growth in sheep fed silages with and without intraperitonea l supplementation with D-L methionine. N.Z. Jl agric. Res. 16: 6468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brett, P. A., Almond, M., Harrison, D. G., Rowlinson, P., Rookf, J. and Armstrong, D. G. 1979. An attempted evaluation of the proposed ARC protein system with reference to the lactating cow. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 38: MSA (Abstr.).Google Scholar
GILL, MARGARET and Beever, D. E. 1982. The effect of protein supplementation on digestion and glucose metabolism in young cattle fed on silage. Br. J. Nutr. 48: 3747.Google Scholar
Gill, M. and England, P. 1983. The effect of level of fish meal and sucrose supplementation on the voluntary intake of silage and live-weight gain in young cattle. Anim. Prod. 36: 513 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Goering, H. K. and Van soest, P. J. 1970. Forage fibre analyses (apparatus, reagents, procedures and some applications). U.S. Dep. Agric, Agric. Handb.No. 379.Google Scholar
Grenet, E. 1983. Utilisation of grass-silage nitrogen by growing sheep. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 100: 4362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hovell, F. D. Deb., Ørskov, E. R., Grubb, D. A. and MacLeod, N. A. 1983a. Basal urinary nitrogen excretion and growth response to supplemental protein by lambs close to energy equilibrium. Br. J. Nutr. 50: 173187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hovell, F. D. Deb., Ørskov, E. R., MacLeod, N. A. and McDonald, I. 1983b. The effect of changes in the amount of energy infused as volatile fatty acids on the nitrogen retention and creatinine excretion of lambs wholly nourished by intragastric infusion. Br. J. Nutr. 50: 331343.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mehrez, A. Z. and Ørskov, E. R. 1977. A study of the artificial fibre bag technique for determining the digestibility of feeds in the rumen. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 88: 645650.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, E. L. 1980. Protein value of feedstuffs for ruminants. In Vicia Faba, Feeding Value, Processing and Viruses (ed. Bond, D. A.), pp. 1730. Nijhoff, Brussels.Google Scholar
Miller, E. L. 1982. The nitrogen needs of ruminants. In Forage Protein in Ruminant Animal Production (ed. Thomson, D. J., Beever, D. E. and Gunn, R. G.), Br. Soc. Anim. Prod. Occ. Publ. No. 6, pp. 7987.Google Scholar
Ministry Of Agriculture, Fisheries And Food, Department Of Agriculture And Fisheries For Scotland And Department Of Agriculture For Northern Ireland. 1975. Energy allowances and feeding systems for ruminants. Tech. Bull. 33. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London.Google Scholar
Morgan, C. A., Edwards, R. A. and McDonald, P. 1980. Intake and metabolism studies with fresh and wilted silages. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 94: 287298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reed, K. F. M. 1979. A note on the feeding value of grass and grass/clover silages for store lambs. Anim. Prod. 28: 271274.Google Scholar
Sheehan, W. and Fitzgerald, J. J. 1977. Effects of method of herbage conservation on performance of store lambs. Ir. J. agric. Res. 16: 8394.Google Scholar
Smith, D., Paulsen, G. M. and Raguse, C. A. 1964. Extraction of total available carbohydrates from grass and legume tissue. PI. Physiol., Lancaster 39: 960962.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, C, Gill, M. and Austin, A. R. 1980. The effect of supplements of fishmeal and lactic acid on voluntary intake of silage- by calves. Grass Forage Sci. 35: 275279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, P. C. 1982. Utilization of conserved forages. In Forage Protein in Ruminant Animal Production (ed. Thomson, D. J., Beever, D. E. and Gunn, R. G.), Br. Soc. Anim. Prod. Occ. Publ. No. 6, pp. 6776.Google Scholar
Wilkins, R. J. 1974. The nutritive value of silages. In University of Nottingham Nutrition Conference for Feed Manufacturers 8 (ed. Swan, H. and Lewis, D.), pp. 167189. Butterworth, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar