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Influence of ammonia treatment and supplementation on the intake, digestibility and weight gain of sheep and cattle on barley straw diets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

Ayona T. Silva ,
J. F. D. Greenhalgh  and
E. R. Ørskov
Ayona T. Silva
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
J. F. D. Greenhalgh
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB9 1UD
E. R. Ørskov
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
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Abstract

Three experiments of 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design were made with sheep or cattle given a basal diet of barley straw. Fish meal (FM) and unmolassed sugar-beet pulp (SBP) were given either separately or in combination as supplements to untreated (US) or ammonia-treated barley straw (AS) to form eight diets. The diets were given for 8 weeks in experiment 1 (24 sheep), 10 weeks in experiment 2 (24 steers) and 20 weeks in experiment 3 (32 steers and bulls). Urea was added to the shredded straw US and AS, to give a final concentration of 17 g nitrogen per kg dry matter (DM). n I experiments 1 and 3, both FM and SBP, given alone or in combination, significantly increased the DM and organic matter digestibility of urea-supplemented US, but not of AS. Ammonia treatment of straw given alone increased DM intake from 414 to 729 g/day in sheep and from 4·75 to 6·09 kg/day in cattle. All animals given US as the sole food lost body weight, but cattle gained weight when US was combined with either 50 g/kg FM or 15 g/kg SBP. It was necessary to combine the two supplements to achieve a significant gain in body weight of sheep. Although the diets based on AS promoted growth in all the animals, the body-weight gains achieved with US combined with 50 g/kg FM or 15 g/kg SBP were greater than those when AS was given as the sole food.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , February 1989 , pp. 99 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1989

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References

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