Feed intake and apparent digestibility of hay-supplemented brassica diets for lambs

• DOI: 10.2527/1994.7261623x
• Publication Date: 2017-08-04T13:47:20Z
• Authors: K. A. Cassida; B. A. Barton; R. L. Hough; M. H. Wiedenhoeft; K. Guillard
• Keywords: Dietary Fiber; Male; 2. Zero hunger; Sheep; Drinking; Thyroid Gland; 0402 animal and dairy science; Sheep Diseases; Anemia; Brassica; 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences; Poaceae; Animal Feed; Eating; Feces; Hematocrit; Animals; Regression Analysis; Digestion; Cellulose

Animal performance on brassica diets often does not reflect laboratory estimates of the nutritive value herbage. Hay supplementation pastures should increase diet DM and fiber intake dilute anti-quality factors. The optimal hay:brassica ratio needed to achieve desirable animal performance, however, has been established. Effects changing feed water intake, apparent digestibility diets, thyroid status, anemia were examined in five Dorset-cross wether spring lambs (initial BW 32.8 ± 3.2 kg). experimental design was a 5 × Latin square with 21-d periods (7 d adaptation, 6 measurement, an 8-d digestion trial jugular blood drawn last day). Diets contained chopped grass hay tyfon (turnip Chinese cabbage hybrid) at hay: ratios (DM basis): 100:0; 75: 25; 50:50; 25:75; 0:100. As proportion increased, there linear increases (P < .05) ad libitum DMI (922 1,359 g/d), total (1.75 13.06 L/d), digestible (401 952 (55.9 86.3%), CP (52.9 84.5%), neutral detergent solubles (57.2 88.5%). plus exhibited negative associative effects for NDF, ADF, cellulose. Plasma thyroxine triiodothyronine, packed cell volume, red count, hemoglobin concentration affected by diet. Tyfon influenced manner similar that concentrate.