Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-02T19:21:12.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Estimates of the energy required for maintenance by adult sheep 1. Housed sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

J. P. Langlands ,
J. L. Corbett ,
I. McDonald  and
J. D. Pullar
J. P. Langlands
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen
J. L. Corbett
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen
I. McDonald
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen
J. D. Pullar
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen
Get access

Summary

Eight adult ewes were fasted for 114 hr. During the last 48 hr. the heat emission of each sheep was measured by direct calorimetry and was found to be 35·2 kcal./kg.0·87/24 hr., that is, 973 kcal./24 hr. for a sheep of 45·4 kg. (100 lb.) live-weight. From this value it is estimated that the 100 lb. sheep would require daily 0·79 lb. digestible organic matter (DOM) from pasture herbage for maintenance.

In a second experiment, 49 adult sheep were kept indoors and fed on fresh herbage for a period of 72 days. Measurements were made of the mean daily DOM intake (D), mean live-weight (W) and mean daily weight gain (G) of each sheep. The regression of D on Wk and G, and the underlying or functional relationship between D, Wk and G were both estimated for k = 0·73 and k = 1·0. From the underlying relationships, the preferred equations, the maintenance requirement of a 100 lb. sheep was estimated to be 0·82 lb. DOM daily. This value and those calculated for other live-weights are approximately two-thirds of the corresponding values given in ‘Rations for Livestock’ (Evans, 1960).

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , February 1963 , pp. 1 - 9
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1963

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

Armsby, H. P. & Moulton, C. R., 1925. The animal as a convenor of matter and energy. Chemical Catalog Co. Inc., New York.Google Scholar
Armstrong, D. G., 1960. Calorimetric determination of the net energy value of dried S.23 ryegrass at four stages of growth. Proc. VIHth int. Grassl. Congr., p. 485.Google Scholar
Blaxter, K. L., 1960. The utilization of the energy of grassland products. Proc. VIIIth int. Grassl. Congr., p. 479.Google Scholar
Blaxter, K. L. & Graham, N. McC., 1956. The effect of the grinding and cubing process on the utilization of the energy of dried grass. J. agric. Sci., 47: 207.Google Scholar
Brody, S., 1945. Bioenergetics and Growth. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York.Google Scholar
Coop, I. E., 1962. The energy requirements of sheep for maintenance and gain. I Pen fed sheep. J. agric. Sci., 58: 179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, R. E., 1960. Rations for Livestock. Bull. Minist. Agric. London, no. 48.Google Scholar
Greenhalgh, J. F. D., Corbett, J. L. & McDonald, I., 1960. The indirect estimation of the digestibility of pasture herbage. II Regressions of digestibility on faecal nitrogen concentration; their determination in continuous digestibility trials and the effect of various factors on their accuracy. J. agric. Sci., 55: 377.Google Scholar
Kermack, K. A. & Haldane, J. B. S., 1950. Organic correlation and allometry. Biometrika, 37: 30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kleiber, M., 1961. The Fire of Life. An Introduction to Animal Energetics. John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York & London.Google Scholar
Kruskal, W. H., 1953. On the uniqueness of the line of organic correlation. Biometrics, 9: 47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambourne, L. J., 1961. Relative effects of environment and live-weight upon the feed requirements of sheep. Proc. N.Z. Soc. Anim. Prod., 21: 92.Google Scholar
Marston, H. R., 1948. Energy transactions in the sheep. I The basal heat production and heat increment. Austr. J. agric. Res., B 1: 93.Google Scholar
PhillipsonA, T. A, T., 1958. In Scientific Principles of Feeding Farm Livestock, p. 105. Farmer & Stockbreeder, London.Google Scholar
Pullar, J. D., 1958. Direct calorimetry of animals by the gradient layer principle. In Symposium on Energy Metabolism. Publ. No. 8, p. 95, Europ. Assoc. Anim. Prod., Rome.Google Scholar
Pullar, J. D., 1962. Calorimetry 1952-1961. Ann. Rep. Rowett Research Institute, 18: 46.Google Scholar
Wallace, L. R., 1956. The intake and utilisation of pasture by grazing dairy cattle. Proc. Vllth int. Grassl. Congr., p. 134.Google Scholar
Watson, J. A. S., Skilbeck, D. & Ellis, J. C. B., 1933. Some aspects of sheep nutrition. Agric. Progr., 10: 124.Google Scholar
Williams, E. J., 1959. Regression Analysis, p. 198. John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York & London.Google Scholar
Wood, T. B. & Capstick, J. W., 1926. The maintenance requirement of the adult sheep. J. agric. Sci., 16: 325.Google Scholar