The efficiency of chewing during eating and ruminating in goats and sheep

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Abstract
The total amounts of time spent eating and ruminating per 24 h by goats and sheep were determined. The efficiencies of chewing during eating () and chewing during ruminating () on the breakdown of feed particles to below the critical size required to leave the rumen () in breaking down feed particles to 1.0 mm in the rumen to 0.1). The greater frequency of chews (number of total jaw movements/min) during eating in goats (P and were not significant between goats and sheep. During eating goats had greater apparent rates of total salivary secretion (P < 0.1), and greater apparent rates of salivary nitrogen secretion (P < 0.05) than sheep. The results help explain the greater fibre digestibility and rumen ammonia irreversible loss rates in goats than sheep, when both species were fed on lucerne chaff.