The Effect of Amount Offered on Selection and Intake of Barley Straw by Goats

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The conventional method of measuring ad libitum intake of roughages involves offering sufficient (usually in chopped form) to ensure that 15 to 20% is left at the end of the feeding period (Blaxter et al 1961). Earlier experiments (Waned and Owen, 1986) with goats and sheep fed long roughages ad libitum (allowing 20% of feed offered to be refused) showed both species to be capable of selective feeding, in that refusals had a lower nutritive value than feed offered. The latter study and that of Glbb and Treacher (1976) with grazing sheep, suggested that selection and hence intake of roughage would increase if the amount offered (and hence refusal rate) was increased.To test this hypothesis two experiments were conducted with housed (16 hours light, 8 hours dark), individually penned Saanen castrate goats ranging in weight (15 to 65 kg) and age (6 to 30 months). Animals were fed restricted amounts of concentrates (15 g dry matter (DM) per kg M0.7S daily) and long barley straw ad libitum.