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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2017
Currently there are two theoretical frameworks for the prediction of feed intake of animals. The first considers feed intake to be a consequence of the animal eating to achieve its genetic potential (Kyriazakis and Emmans, 1999). When potential performance is not achieved it is because feed intake is being constrained, for example through the bulkiness of the feed or the hotness of the environment. The second framework considers feed intake to be an outcome of some process of optimisation so that intake is that which allows the maximisation of biological efficiency (Tolkamp and Ketelaars, 1992). The two frameworks differ in their predictions of the effect of temperature on the intake of bulky feeds. In the first, feed intake on bulky feeds is seen as a function of the type of feed; in the second, feed intake is a function of both the type of feed and the environment. The first framework predicts that in the cold the intake of low, but not high, bulk feeds will increase. The second framework predicts that in the cold intake will be increased regardless of the type of feed offered. This experiment was designed to provide a severe test of the two feed intake theories.