An experiment was designed to test the value of Ulva lactuca, produced from an integrated mariculture project, using six Finn-Merino crossbred ram lambs. Diets consisted of concentrate with vetch hay for the control, with additional Ulva for the treatment diet. Measurements of digestibility of energy, volatile fatty acid concentration in the rumen fluid, effective degradability of nitrogen in the rumen, rumen ammonia concentration and excretion of nitrogen in urine all indicated that Ulva could be categorized as a low-energy high-nitrogen foodstuff.

The effects on animal performance of barley-urea (BU), maize gluten (MG) and rapeseed meal (RSM) offered with ad libitum winter wheat straw, were examined with 138 pregnant Hereford (♂ × Friesian ♀ cows over two winters (1987/88 and 1988/89). In each year, seven young cows and 16 old cows per treatment were offered respectively 3·0 or 1·5 kg fresh weight per head per day, of BU, MG or RSM for 167 days. There were no treatment effects on live weight, condition score or calf birth weight. In terms of animal performance BU, MG and RSM were equally effective.

Two synthetic lines of rabbits were used in the experiment. Line V, selected on litter size, and line R, selected on growth rate. Ninety-six animals were randomly collected from 48 litters, taking a male and a female each time. Richards and Gompertz growth curves were fitted. Sexual dimorphism appeared in the line V but not in the R. Values for b and k were similar in all curves. Maximum growth rate took place in weeks 7 to 8. A break due to weaning could be observed in weeks 4 to 5. Although there is a remarkable similarity of the values of all the parameters using data from the first 20 weeks only, the higher standard errors on adult weight would make 30 weeks the preferable time to take data for live-weight growth curves.