Statistical research on the digestibility in the cow: III. Carbohydrates

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Abstract
The results obtained for the digestibility of the carbohydrates with 116 different rations fed to 242 non-pregnant dry cows and 96 lactating cows were studied.Except for some roughages, reducing sugars, non-reducing sugars, and starch digestibility is always very high. Reducing-sugars digestibility is related to starch content and starch digestibility to crude-fibre content.Pentosans and crude-fibre digestibility is related to dry-matter intake and to starch, pentosans and crude-fibre content. When the ration contains less than 12% protein, a significant correlation coefficient also exists between crude-fibre digestibility and protein content. But pentosans and crude-fibre digestibility depends above all on the nature of the feeds and on the stage of maturity of the forage.