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The effect of three sources of rumen degradable protein on the digestibility of hay and silage diets fed to sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2017

J.A. Bax
Affiliation:
The West of Scotland Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr. KA6 5HW
N.W. Offer
Affiliation:
The West of Scotland Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr. KA6 5HW
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Extract

Protein supplementation of silage diets using fishmeal can increase both the voluntary intake of silage and liveweight gain in young growing calves. In association with these responses, increases in ration digestibility have also been observed which are not predicted by ARC (1980) (Bax, J.A. and Offer, N.W., 1982). Similar unpredicted responses have also been observed in older cattle (Waterhouse, A., Laird, R., Holliday, R.J., 1983). ARC (1980) assumes that increases in digestibility following supplementation with RDP occur only if the basal diet provides less than 7.8 g RDP/MJ ME irrespective of the source of RDP. The objective of the present study was to subject the microbial requirements proposed in ARC (1980) to a critical evaluation.

Type
Protein Allowances for Ruminants
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1984

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References

Bax, J.A. and Offer, N.W. (1982). Anim. Prod. 34 382 A.Google Scholar
Ørskov, E.R. and McDonald, I. (1979). J. Agr. Sci. Camb. 92. 499503.Google Scholar
Waterhouse, A., Laird, R. and Holliday, R.J. (1983). Anim. Prod. 36 503 A.Google Scholar