Voluntary herbage intake and diet selection in Scottish-Blackface ewes suckling twin lambs and grazing perennial ryegrass/white clover swards with or without protein supplementation

Abstract

Mixed perennial ryegrass and white clover swards are often used as the basis of upland sheep grazing systems. This study’s objective was to examine voluntary herbage intake and diet selection in 30 lactating Scottish-Blackface ewes grazing mixed perennial ryegrass (PRG) and white clover (WC) swards supplemented with or without protein. The work was part of a wider study of nutrition and parasitology in organic sheep systems.