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The intake, digestibility and rate of passage of whole crop wheat and grass silage by growing heifers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

J. Hill
Affiliation:
Wye College (University of London), Wye, Ashford, Kent
J.D. Leaver
Affiliation:
Wye College (University of London), Wye, Ashford, Kent
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Extract

The aims of the experiment were to determine the intake, digestibility and particle passage kinetics of urea treated (40 g urea / Kg DM) whole crop wheat (UW), grass silage (GS) and a 0.5:0.5 UW : GS mixture (UG) on a DM basis.

The chemical composition of GS and UW were respectively, TDM (gTDM/Kg) 227, 648; NDF (g/Kg DM) 528,426; ADF (g/Kg DM) 346, 285; Ash (g/Kg DM) 74, 62; Starch (g/Kg DM) 3, 236; Nitrogen (g/Kg DM) 24.2, 30.2; Ammonia N (g/Kg TN) 91, 382; pH 3.9, 8.5; NCD (g/Kg DM) 681, 642 respectively.The UG was mixed daily, in an attempt to reduce selection of individual components by the animals.

The experimental design was based on two 3 x 3 latin squares with three animals per square and three periods of three weeks duration. Six Holstein Friesian x Brown Swiss pregnant heifers (mean liveweight 400 Kg) were used to assess (during the last 7 days of each period) the voluntary intake, digestibility and particle passage kinetics of the three forages.

Type
Dairy Production
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1993

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