Variation of Esophageal Fistula Samples between Animals and Days on Tropical Grasslands

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Abstract
Twelve indigenous Sanga cattle fitted with esophageal fistulas were used to collect tropical forage on 7 different dates within a 10-day period. Analysis of a variance showed no significant differences between animals for crude protein, crude fiber, and ether extract. There were significant differences between days for crude protein and ether extract but not for crude fiber. The number of animal-days needed for a 95% level of accuracy and to come within +10% of the mean was 5.6 for crude protein and 28.7 for ether extract. Crude fiber would need 4.1 animal-days to come within + 5% of the mean. A depraved appetite for salt in the fistulated cattle and the subsequent comsump-tion of salt-saturated soil appeared to be the cause of a significantly higher silica level in the feces of these steers as compared with non-fistulated steers. Fecal crude protein, crude fiber, and ether extract, when expressed on an ash-free basis, showed no significant differences between fistulated and non-fistulated steers. There were significant differences between animals and between days.

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