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Abstract
Eight Black Belly rams (45.2 kg) fitted with permanent ruminal cannulae were used in a 2x2 factorial design to determine the effects of feeding frequency and regrowth age on intake and digestion. Rams were fed with 21- or 35-day old fresh pangola grass offered ad libitum two or four times a day. Irrespective of the regrowth age, there was a tendency for intake to be positively correlated with increase in meal frequency. Differences were not significant (p>0.25). Significant effects of meal frequency were observed in NDF and ADF total tract digestibility of the 35-day grass which decreased as the number of meals increased. Meal frequency had no visible effect on feeding behaviour. Total rumen content increased when animals were fed twice a day as opposed to four times a day. Similarly, an accumulation of small and very small particles was observed in the rumen of rams fed twice a day in comparison with those fed four times a day. These results suggest that studies of digestive dynamics performed at a steady state are not representative of the rumen loading observed in farm rams which have two important peaks of meal.
Highlights
Digestible organic matter intake is a major factor influencing the feed value of tropical grass (Aumont et al, 1995)
These factors include the residence time of forage in the rumen which affects the quantity of forage consumed, for low digestible forages (Poppi et al, 1980; Poppi et al, 1981a b; Poppi et al, 1985); as well as the comminution and chemical degradation which are believed to influence the fill effect of tropical grass in ruminants (Wilson, 1994)
We evaluated the effect of frequency of meal on the process of intake, chewing and digestion of tropical grass in rams
Summary
Digestible organic matter intake is a major factor influencing the feed value of tropical grass (Aumont et al, 1995). To improve the nutrition of ruminants fed with tropical grass, it is important to increase their feed intake level by controlling influencing factors that could affect intake These factors include the residence time of forage in the rumen which affects the quantity of forage consumed, for low digestible forages (Poppi et al, 1980; Poppi et al, 1981a b; Poppi et al, 1985); as well as the comminution and chemical degradation which are believed to influence the fill effect of tropical grass in ruminants (Wilson, 1994). Studies on digestive dynamics are often cumbersome and complicated; most experiments are carried out with animals fed frequently at regular time intervals on a
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