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Volatile fatty acids in the ruemen of sheep fed grass, unwilted and wilted silage, and barn-dried hay

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

B. K. Anderson  and
N. Jackson
B. K. Anderson
Affiliation:
Agricultural Chemistry Department, Queen's University. Belfast BT9 6BB
N. Jackson
Affiliation:
Agricultural Chemistry Department, Queen's University, Belfast, and Ministry of Agriculture, Northern Ireland
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Summary

Experiments were carried out to assess the effect of the following diets: unwilted and wilted silage, barn-dried hay and wilted silage and ensiled mixtures of grass and barley on the ruminal VFA patterns in sheep.

There was a tendency for the unwilted silage to result in a slightly higher level of rumen acetate and a lower level of propionate than grass, wilted silage or barn-dried hay. In two of the experiments (Exps. 2 and 4) significant direct relationships were found between rumen acetate and the crude-fibre content of the diets and significant inverse relationships were found between the rumen propionate and the crude-fibre content of the diets.

Significant relationships were also found between the rumen acids and the metabolizable energy content of the diets and in Exp. 2 there was a significant relationship between the rumen acetate and the water-soluble carbohydrate content of the diet.

The addition of barley meal to grass produced different ruminal VFA patterns in sheep fed the ensiled material and the resulting silage.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 77 , Issue 3 , December 1971 , pp. 483 - 490
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

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References

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