Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T06:29:59.068Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seasonal changes in intake and digestion of chopped timothy hay (Phleum pratense) by three breeds of sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

G. R. Iason ,
D. A. Sim  and
E. Foreman
G. R. Iason
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research InstituteCraigiebucklerAberdeen AB9 2QJUK
D. A. Sim
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research InstituteCraigiebucklerAberdeen AB9 2QJUK
E. Foreman
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research InstituteCraigiebucklerAberdeen AB9 2QJUK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The voluntary food intake (VFI) and apparent digestibility of chopped timothy hay by six Scottish Blackface (BF), Shetland (SH) and Dorset Horn (DH) non-breeding ewes were assessed in summer and winter. In two experiments VFI was higher in summer than in winter but did not differ between the breeds. In Expt 1, the seasonal difference in VFI was greater in BF and SH than in DH ewes and the apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and total nitrogen was consistently higher in all three breeds in summer than in winter. The higher digestibility of DM of the hay in summer than in winter was confirmed in Expt 2, in which the whole tract mean retention time (MRT) of the undigested residues was measured using 103ruthenium-phenanthroline as a marker. The MRT was lower in all three breeds in summer than in winter. In a third experiment, following at least 6 months ad libitum feeding on the hay, for all three breeds the contents of DM and liquid in the reticulorumen were smaller in summer, and the liquid fraction formed a greater proportion in summer than in winter. The results contrast with the expectation that intake and digestibility within a given forage type are negatively correlated. Although an increase in digestibility may facilitate a higher VFI in summer (BF and SH) it does not necessarily do so (DH).

Type
Animals
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 125 , Issue 2 , October 1995 , pp. 273 - 280
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Balch, C. C. & Campling, R. C. (1962). Regulation of voluntary food intake in ruminants. Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews 32, 669–686.Google ScholarPubMed
Barry, T. N., Suttie, J. M., Milne, J. A. & Kay, R. N. B. (1991). Control of food intake in domesticated deer. In Physiological Aspects of Digestion and Metabolism in Ruminants: Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium on Ruminant Physiology (Eds Tsuda, T., Sasaki, Y. & Kawashima, R.), pp. 385–401. New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, K. L., Graham, N. McC. & Wainman, F. W. (1956). Some observations on the digestibility of food by sheep, and on related problems. British Journal of Nutrition 10, 69–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blaxter, K. L., Wainman, F. W. & Wilson, R. S. (1961). The regulation of food intake by sheep. Animal Production 3, 51–61.Google Scholar
Campling, R. C. (1970). Physical regulation of voluntary intake. In Physiology of Digestion and Metabolism in the Ruminant (Ed. Phillipson, A. T.), pp. 226–234. Newcastle upon Tyne: Oriel Press.Google Scholar
Campling, R. C., Freer, M. & Balch, C. C. (1961). Factors affecting the voluntary intake of food by cows. 2. The relationship between the voluntary intake of roughages, the amount of digesta in the reticulo-rumen and the rate of disappearance from the alimentary tract. British Journal of Nutrition 15, 531–540.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campling, R. C., Freer, M. & Balch, C. C. (1963). Factors affecting the voluntary intake of food by cows. 6. A preliminary experiment with ground, pelleted hay. British Journal of Nutrition 17, 263–272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Colucci, P. E., MacLeod, G. K., Grovum, W. L. & McMillan, I. (1984). Comparative digestion and digesta kinetics in sheep and cattle. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 64 (Supplement), 173–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Demment, M. W. & Van Soest, P. J. (1985). A nutritional explanation for body-size patterns of ruminant and nonruminant herbivores. American Naturalist 125, 641–672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Domingue, B. M. F., Dellow, D. W., Wilson, P. R. & Barry, T. N. (1991). Comparative digestion in deer, goats, and sheep. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 34, 45–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Faichney, G. J. (1975). The use of markers to partition digestion within the gastro-intestinal tract of ruminants. In Digestion and Metabolism in the Ruminant (Eds McDonald, I. W. & Warner, A. C. I.), pp. 277–291. Armidale: University of New England Publishing Unit.Google Scholar
Faichney, G. J. (1986). The kinetics of paniculate matter in the rumen. In Control of Digestion and Metabolism in Ruminants (Eds Milligan, L. P., Grovum, W. L. & Dobson, A.), pp. 173–195. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Foot, J. Z. & Russel, A. J. F. (1978). Pattern of intake of three roughage diets by non-pregnant, non-lactating Scottish Blackface ewes over a long period and the effects of previous nutritional history on current intake. Animal Production 26, 203–215.Google Scholar
Gordon, J. G. (1964). Effect of time of year on the roughage intake of housed sheep. Nature 204, 798–799.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grovum, W. L. (1986). The control of motility of the ruminoreticulum. In Control of Digestion and Metabolism in Ruminants (Eds Milligan, L. P., Grovum, W. L. & Dobson, A.), pp. 18–40. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Grovum, W. L. & Williams, V. J. (1973). Rate of passage of digesta in sheep. 4. Passage of markers through the alimentary tract and the biological relevance of rateconstants derived from the changes in concentration of marker in faeces. British Journal of Nutrition 30, 313–329.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grovum, W. L. & Williams, V. J. (1977). Rate of passage of digesta in sheep. 6. The effect of level of food intake on mathematical predictions of the kinetics of digesta in the reticulorumen and intestines. British Journal of Nutrition 38, 425–436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harkness, R. D. (1963). Studies in herbage digestibility. Journal of the British Grassland Society 18, 62–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iason, G. R. & Mantecon, A. R. (1991). Seasonal variation in voluntary food intake and post-weaning growth in lambs: a comparison of genotypes. Animal Production 52, 279–285.Google Scholar
Jewell, P. A. (1989). Factors that affect fertility in a feral population of sheep. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 95, 163–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kay, R. N. B. (1979). Seasonal changes of appetite in deer and sheep. ARC Research Reviews 5, 13–15.Google Scholar
Kay, R. N. B. (1985). Seasonal variation of appetite in ruminants. In Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition 1985 (Eds Haresign, W. & Cole, D. J. A.), pp. 199–210. London: Butterworths.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lincoln, G. A. (1988). Seasonal cycles in testicular activity in Mouflon, Soay sheep and domesticated breeds of sheep: breeding seasons modified by domestication. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 95, 137–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Love, K. J., Egan, J. K. & McIntyre, J. S. (1978). The effect of partial shearing on the voluntary food intake and production of Merino wethers. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 12, 269.Google Scholar
Milne, J. A., MacRae, J. C., Spence, A. M. & Wilson, S. (1978). A comparison of the voluntary intake and digestion of a range of forages at different times of the year by the sheep and the red deer (Cervus elaphus). British Journal of Nutrition 40, 347–357.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Minson, D. J. (1982). Effects of chemical and physical composition of herbage eaten upon intake. In Nutritional Limits to Animal Production from Pastures (Ed. Hacker, J. B.), pp. 167–182. Farnham Royal: CAB.Google Scholar
Owens, F. N. & Goetsch, A. L. (1986). Digesta passage and microbial protein synthesis. In Control of Digestion and Metabolism in Ruminants (Eds Milligan, L. P., Grovum, W. L. & Dobson, A.), pp. 196–223. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Raymond, W. F., Harris, C. E. & Kemp, C. D. (1954). Studies in the digestibility of herbage. V. The variation, with age, of the ability of sheep to digest herbage, with observations on the effect of season on digestive ability. Journal of the British Grassland Society 9, 209–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raymond, W. F., Harris, C. E. & Kemp, C. D. (1955). Studies in the digestibility of herbage. VI. The effect of level of herbage intake on the digestibility of herbage by sheep. Journal of the British Grassland Society 10, 19–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raymond, W. F., Minson, D. J. & Harris, C. E. (1959). Studies in the digestibility of herbage. VII. Further evidence on the effect of level of intake on the digestive efficiency of sheep. Journal of the British Grassland Society 14, 75–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snedecor, G. W. & Cochran, W. G. (1980). Statistical Methods. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
Tan, T. N., Weston, R. H. & Hogan, J. P. (1971). Use of 103ruthenium-labelled (1, 10-phenanthroline). Ruthenium II chloride as a marker in digestion studies with sheep. International Journal of Applied Radiation and Isotopes 22, 301–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ternouth, J. H. & Beattie, A. W. (1970). A note on the voluntary food consumption and the sodium-potassium ratio of sheep after shearing. Animal Production 12, 343–346.Google Scholar
Thonney, M. L., Taylor, St C. S. & McLelland, T. H. (1987 a). Breed and sex differences in equally mature sheep and goats. 1. Growth and food intake. Animal Production 45, 239–260.Google Scholar
Thonney, M. L., Taylor, St C. S. & McLelland, T. H. (1987 b). Breed and sex differences in equally mature sheep and goats. 2. Body components at slaughter. Animal Production 45, 261–276.Google Scholar
Van Soest, P. J. (1963). Use of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds. II. A rapid method for the determination of fiber and lignin. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 46, 829–839.Google Scholar
Van Soest, P. J. & Wine, R. H. (1967). Use of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds. IV. Determination of plant cell-wall constituents. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 50, 50–55.Google Scholar
Warner, A. C. I. (1981). Rate of passage of digesta through the gut of mammals and birds. Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews, B 51, 789–820.Google Scholar
Wodzicka-Tomaszewska, M. (1963). The effect of shearing on the appetite of sheep. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 6, 440–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar