The development of solid food intake in calves. 2. Studies on the volume of rumen fluid, determined by an indirect method

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
SUMMARY: 1. Two experiments are described in which polyethylene glycol was used to estimate the volume of fluid in the rumen of calves weaned at an early age from milk substitute on to diets of dried grass.2. The limitations of the technique in relation to studies on voluntary food intake are discussed.3. Linear relationships were observed between the volume of rumen fluid and the consumption of solid food within each of three diets, as solid food intake increased after weaning.4. In one experiment, the concentration of dry matter in the rumen contents increased by 50% over the first 3 weeks after weaning. There was no significant change with time after weaning in the pH or the digestive efficiency, measured in vitro, of samples of rumen contents.5. The times spent eating and ruminating increased rapidly after weaning on both a long and a pelleted diet, but then remained relatively constant despite continued increases in solid food intake. Eating and ruminating times were much greater for the long than for the pelleted diet.