Influence of herbage allowance on diet quality in lactation ewes

D.G. Geenty and A.R. Sykes

Templeton Agricultural Research Station, Canterbury and Lincoln College, Canterbury

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. 1982, 42: 161-164

Diet quality was measured using oesophageally-fistulated lactating Dorset ewes offered herbage allowances of 8 (H), 5 (M) and 2 (L) kg DM/ewe/d. Ewes on all allowances tended to have a similar selection preference for grass and clover; those on H and M allowances consumed proportionately more clover and less dead material than L ewes.

The mean DDM of herbage selected by ewes in H and M groups averaged 0.790 and was 0.734 for L ewes compared with 0.727 for sward samples taken pre-grazing. The ME content of DM consumed by H and M ewes was 7% greater than for L ewes.

It is suggested that the lower digestibility of the diets of L ewes was due to a higher consumption of dead material and plant stalk than in ewes on H and M allowances.

Keywords: NZSAPAB;

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Last Updated 03-05-1997