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The effects of level of concentrate on eating behaviour, predicted hourly nutrient release in the rumen and performance of ewes fed grass silage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2021

L.A. Sinclair
Affiliation:
Harper Adams Agricultural College, Edgmond, Newport, Shropshire, TF108NB, UK
D.M. Scoffield
Affiliation:
Harper Adams Agricultural College, Edgmond, Newport, Shropshire, TF108NB, UK
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Extract

Recent work has reported that synchronising the hourly supply of energy and nitrogen to the rumen can improve the efficiency of microbial growth by 12-14% (Sinclair et al., 1995). However, animals when offered an asynchronous feed ad-libitum may alter their pattern of intake to achieve a more synchronous release of nutrients in die rumen. In addition, the provision of concentrates at fixed times may alter the hourly and daily intake of forage and the pattern of release of nutrients in the rumen. In a previous experiment with growing sheep (Sinclair and McQuiston 1995), grass silage was demonstrated to have an asynchronous release of energy and nitrogen in the rumen and mat the provision of concentrates did not alter the pattern of silage intake but increased the degree of synchrony.

Type
Sheep
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1996

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References

Sinclair, L.A., Gamsworthy, P.C., Newbold, J.R and Buttery, P.J. (1995) Effects of synchronizing the rate of dietary energy and nitrogen release in diets with a similar carbohydrate composition on rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science (Cambs) 120: 251263 10.1017/S002185960007430XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinclair, L.A. and McQuiston, G.C. (1995) Effects of level of concentrate on the eating behaviour and predicted hourly release of nutrients in the rumen of sheep fed grass silage Animal Production 60: 531 Google Scholar