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The possibility of predicting the sheep voluntary dry matter intake of hays from their rumen degradation characteristics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2017

S. Lopez ,
Dolores Carro ,
J.S. Gonzalez  and
F.J. Ovejero
S. Lopez
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Production, University of León, 24007 León( Spain)
Dolores Carro
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Production, University of León, 24007 León( Spain)
J.S. Gonzalez
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Production, University of León, 24007 León( Spain)
F.J. Ovejero
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Production, University of León, 24007 León( Spain)
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Extract

Ability to predict accurately the intake of digestible nutrients by ruminants is of great interest. The feed intake can be limited mainly by the amount of undigested residue remaining in the rumen. Ingested feed disappears from the rumen in two ways: through digestion and through passage. So, forages with easily degraded cell-walls, may promote faster rates of digestion and passage and allow the animal to consume more feed (Hovell et al., 1986).

The objective of the present study is to determine the rate and extent of rumen degradation of various hays “in situ” and to evaluate the ability to predict the voluntary intake from these rumen degradation characteristics.

Eleven sun-cured hays from three cultivars (alfalfa, red-clover and vetch-cereal), two sown grasslands (grass-clover mixture and mixed grass sward) and six permanent meadows were used to study the relationship between some rumen degradation characteristics and the voluntary dry matter intake (VDMI) by sheep.

Type
Prediction and Measurement of Intake by Cattle
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1989 , March 1989 , pp. 71
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Production 1989

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References

Hovell, F. D. DeB., Ngambi, J.W.W., Barber, W.P. and Kyle, D.J. (1986). The voluntary intake of hay by sheep in relation to its degradability in the rumen as measured in nylon bags. Animal Production, 42: 111–118.Google Scholar
Orskov, E.R. and McDonald, I. (1979) The estimation of protein degradability in the rumen from incubation measurements weighted according to rate of passage. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge, 92:499–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orskov, E.R., Hovell, F.D.DeB. and Mould, F. (1980) The use of the nylon bag technique for the evaluation of feedstuffs. Tropical Animal Production, 5:195–213.Google Scholar