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Use of a ‘Floor’ method instead of metabolism crates for collecting faeces from goats, for estimating digestibility of dry matter

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

Jaime E. Velásquez  and
Emyr Owen
Jaime E. Velásquez
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Reading , Earley Gate P.O.Box 236 Reading RG6 2AT
Emyr Owen
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Reading , Earley Gate P.O.Box 236 Reading RG6 2AT
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Extract

Total collection of faeces from goats fed long straw ad libitum in crates requires much labour. This is particularly so when feeding straw generously to facilitate selection by goats of the more nutritious leaf-plus-sheath component (Wahed, Owen, Naate and Hosking, 1990). Confining goats in crates is also stressful to animals and in future will be discouraged. An experiment was therefore made to compare the digestibility of barley straw supplemented with concentrates, measured by collecting faeces in one of two ways. One involved total collection of faeces from goats confined in metabolism crates. The other involved estimating the output of faeces from the increase in weight of sawdust bedding provided for individually-penned goats.

Type
Goats
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1992 , March 1992 , pp. 89
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1992

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References

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