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Voluntary intake and digestion of ryegrass straw by llama × guanaco crossbreds and sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

B. G. Warmington ,
G. F. Wilson  and
T. N. Barry
B. G. Warmington
Affiliation:
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Batchelar Agriculture Centre, PO Box 1654, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
G. F. Wilson
Affiliation:
Animal Science Department, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
T. N. Barry
Affiliation:
Animal Science Department, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Summary

The voluntary feed and water intakes of five llama × guanaco crossbreds (New World camelids) and five sheep, and their abilities to digest various feed components and to utilize nitrogen, were compared using a diet of threshed ryegrass straw in New Zealand in 1987.

The camelids ate more than the sheep, but intakes were similar relative to metabolic live weight (mean 37·6 g dry matter/kg W0·75 per day). They drank 0·62 times as much water as sheep per kg W0·75, and 0·57 times as much per g DM intake (P < 0·05). Mean apparent digestibilities of dry matter (47.7%), energy (41·6%) and cell-wall fractions (48·4%) were similar in both species, in spite of the sheep selecting a higher-N component of the diet. Variation in digestibility (e.g. organic matter digestibility) among individual sheep was inversely associated with the percentage of cell-wall constituents consumed. The faeces of camelids contained a significantly higher proportion of particles longer than 0·5mm than those of the sheep (17 v. 11% total DM), indicating a slightly larger threshold to passage from the forestomachs in the camelids.

All animals were in negative N balance during the trial, but net loss of N was less in the camelids than in the sheep (27·6 and 49·5 g N/100 g N intake, respectively; P < 0·05), because of lower urinary N excretion (36·5 and 60·3 g N/100 g N intake, respectively; P < 0·05) of the camelids. The results suggest that camelids may be better suited than ruminants for production from poor-quality feeds, especially if water supply is limited.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 113 , Issue 1 , August 1989 , pp. 87 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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