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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2010
In two experiments with steers (initial live weight 339 kg) the effect of dried grass, barley and concentrates on the intake of ‘wilted’ and unwilted grass and whole-crop barley silage was investigated.
In both experiments there was no significant effect of silage type on silage dry-matter intake when given alone or with a supplement. In Experiment 1, supplementation significantly reduced (P<0·05) the intake of silage dry matter (DM) from unwilted and whole-crop barley silage. Total DM intake was significantly higher (P<0·05) for the ‘wilted’ silage diet than for either the unwilted or whole-crop barley silage diets. In Experiment 2, supplementation had no significant effect on total DM intake. Digestible energy intake was significantly higher (P < 0·05) from whole-crop barley silage supplemented with concentrate rather than barley or dried grass and was significantly lower (P<0·05) from unwilted silage diets (P<0·05) when dried grass rather than concentrate or barley was given. In the second experiment, ration digestibility and rate of passage of digesta results are reported.