Experiments have demonstrated the importance of roughage to young calves in stimulating weight gain and feed intake through increased rumen buffering capacity.

Previous studies (Thomas and Hinks) have shown that weight gain and pry Matter intake were optimised with the inclusion of 220g/kg of chopped barley straw. Furthermore, the inclusion of increasing levels of barley straw in the diet were closely associated with increases in rumen pH, possibly linked with increased saliva flow, and marked changes in rumen VFA proportions. In view of the alkaline nature of ammonia-treated straw, linked with improvements in digestibility and crude protein content, further studies have been conducted to determine whether intake and weight gain might be further enhanced with the inclusion of this material in the diet.