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The effect of digestibility and forage species on the removal of digesta from the rumen and the voluntary intake of hay by sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

E. M. Aitchison
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute‡, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 5LR
M. Gill
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute‡, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 5LR
M. S. Dhanoa
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute‡, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 5LR
D. F. Osbourn
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute‡, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 5LR
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Abstract

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1. The characteristics of digestion, passage and rumen fill of three hays: early- and late-cut perennial ryegrass (Loliurn perenne cv. Endura) and white clover hay (Trifolium repens cv. Blanca and Pronitro) were studied using six rumen-cannulated sheep fed at a restricted level of intake (18 g dry matter (DM)/kg live weight (LW) per d), in a two 3 x 3 Latin square design.

2. Voluntary intake of the same diets was measured using a further six non-cannulated sheep in a similar design.

3. Rate of digestion of the three hays was measured using dacron bags and the rates of digestion of DM and neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) for clover hay were significantly (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001 respectively) faster than those for the two grass hays whose rates did not differ. Rates of passage, determined using chromium-mordanted hay, did not differ between treatments.

4. Rumen pool sizes of DM, organic matter and fibre were generally greatest for the late-cut grass hay and lowest for the clover hay, while voluntary intake was highest (P < 0.001) for the clover hay (36.6 g DM/kg LW per d) and lowest for the late-cut grass hay (24.7 g/kg LW per d).

5. The net rate of removal of indigestible fibre from the rumen appeared to vary within the day, with maximal disappearance occurring during eating, followed by a lag phase between 5 and 10 h after feeding, with a second increase in rate between 10 and 24 h post-feeding.

Type
Papers on General Nutrition
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1986

References

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