Productivity of S. 59 red fescue with and without S. 184 white clover under hill conditions: 2. Herbage measurements in relation to animal performance

1975 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Davies
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Animal Performance ◽  
Red Fescue ◽  
Rapid Fall ◽  
Herbage Quality ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Digestible Organic Matter

SUMMARYHerbage availability, intake and nutritive value were recorded on swards of S. 59 red fescue (Festuca rvbra L.) and S. 23 perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), with and without S. 184 white clover (Trifolium repens L.), and correlated with animal performance. Intake of dry matter was similar on all treatments. Animal live-weight gains during 1969 were positively correlated with digestible organic matter intake (DOMI).Poor animal performance from red fescue swards in mid-summer was attributed to the rapid fall in digestibility at this time which affected DOMI.Differences between treatments in efficiency of conversion of DOMI into live-weight gains were observed. Superior conversion ratios in swards containing clover could not be related to any of the herbage quality measurements recorded.Better animal productivity from red fescue swards in early spring and in late autumn were related to the longer growing season of this grass.The merits and demerits of red fescue as a grass for hill conditions and the possibility of reducing its limitations by breeding are discussed.

Productivity of S. 59 red fescue with and without S. 184 white clover under hill conditions: 1. Animal performance

1975 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Davies
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Individual Growth ◽  
Grazing Season ◽  
Red Fescue ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Second Year

SUMMARYAn appraisal of the value of S. 59 red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) for grazing was made using ewes and lambs (Clun Forest in 1969, Welsh Mountain in 1970) at a site 305 m O.D. in mid-Wales. S. 23 perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) was used as a control, and the value of S. 184 white clover (Trifolium repens L.) in conjunction with both grasses was examined.In the first year, under a rotational grazing regime at a fixed stocking rate of 22 ewes and single lambs/ha, lamb live-weight gains were significantly poorer on S. 59/S. 184 and significantly better on S. 23/S. 184 than on either of the pure grass swards. For the 130 days grazing season, mean daily lamb live-weight gains were 157, 126, 78 and 120 g on S. 23/S. 184, S. 23, S. 59/S. 184 and S. 59 treatments respectively.During the second year lamb growth rates on S. 59/S. 184 improved by 59%, whereas those on the other treatments were marginally lower than in 1969. Stocking rates were increased on the grass swards and decreased on the grass/clover swards for most of the grazing period in the second year in accordance with herbage availability. No significant difference was detected between the four treatments in total lamb liveweight production as a result of better individual growth rates on the grass/clover swards.In both years wide variations were recorded between treatments at different periods within the grazing season. Red fescue swards maintained superior lamb production in early spring and late autumn, but were inferior to ryegrass in mid-summer.

Stocking intensity and pastoral production: III. Wool production, fleece characteristics, and the utilization of nutrients for maintenance and wool growth by Merino sheep grazed at different stocking rates

1973 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Langlands ◽  
I. L. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Live Weight ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Metabolizable Energy ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Wool Production ◽  
Digestible Organic Matter ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
Rate Of Decline ◽  
Stocking Rates

SummaryWool production and wool characteristics are reported for a 5-year period in which sheep grazed Phalaris tuberosa–Trifolium repens pastures at stocking rates ranging from 2·5 to 37·1 sheep/ha. The utilization of nutrients for maintenance and wool production were calculated over shorter periods.Maximum wool production/ha was always recorded at the highest stocking rate attained. The highest annual maximum was 111 kg clean wool/ha in 1963–4. The decline in wool production/sheep/unit increase in stocking rate was greatest during winter and the amplitude of the seasonal rhythm in wool production increased with stocking rate.At high stocking rates wool count increased, staple length and character declined, colour and handle improved, soundness tended to decline and fibre entanglement (cotting) to increase particularly during drought. Live-weight gain/sheep also declined with stocking rate, the rate of decline being greatest during drought. Maximum live-weight change/ha was attained at a lower stocking rate than maximum wool production/ha.The maintenance requirement of grazing sheep was estimated to be 58·3 kcal metabolizable energy/day/kg live weight and did not vary consistently with stocking rate. The value was 79% greater than the requirements for penned sheep estimated from fasting heat production.Efficiency of wool production was defined as wool grown/100 g digestible organic matter intake (ED) and as wool grown/100 g nitrogen intake (EN). EN declined linearly with increasing stocking rate but the intercepts differed between months, and were least in late winter and early spring. En declined with stocking rate in winter and increased during summer. At low stocking rates, ED showed some variation throughout the year but this was much greater at high stocking rates.

scholarly journals Utilization of salts of volatile fatty acids by growing sheep

1970 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 695-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Poole ◽  
D. M. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Body Weight Gain ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Metabolizable Energy ◽  
Carcass Weight ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Digestible Organic Matter ◽  
Lower Molar

1. An experiment is reported in which groups of six lambs were fed two basal diets supplemented at three levels with a mixture of sodium and calcium acetates.2. The basal diets were given in amounts that provided equal intakes of digestible organic matter and crude protein. One contained 85 % of concentrates (Hc), the other 40% of concentrates (Lc). Rumen contents from a sheep receiving diet Hc contained a lower molar proportion of acetate and higher proportions of propionate and butyrate than when diet Lc was given.3. The calculated metabolizable energy of the basal Hc diet was utilized more efficiently than that of the basal Lc diet, for promoting empty body-weight and carcass-weight gains.4. On both basal diets, lambs receiving the diets supplemented with acetate made greater live-weight, empty body-weight and carcass-weight gains than lambs given unsupplemented diets. The responses of weight gain to increasing levels of acetate were linear.5. The responses to acetate were greater when it was given with the Hc diet than with the Lc diet. This effect was most marked for live-weight gain (P < 0.001), intermediate for empty body-weight gain (P < 0.05), but not significant for carcass-weight gain. This order of effects was in part due to a greater weight of alimentary tract tissue, and its contents, in lambs fed the Hc diet supplemented with acetate.6. It is concluded that under certain circumstances the energy of acetate may be utilized less efficiently than energy from propionate or butyrate.

scholarly journals ASPECTS OF THE FEEDING AND NUTRITIVE VALUE OF LOTUS SPECIES

1981 ◽  
pp. 152-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. John ◽  
J.A. Lancashire
Keyword(s):  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Condensed Tannins ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Protein Digestion ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Feeding Value ◽  
Feeding Trials

Daily weight gains of sheep in pure sward grazing trials showed relative feeding values to be in the order: white clover (100) > sainfoin (97), Maku lotus (87) > lucerne, red clover (78) > perennial ryegrass (52). The high feeding value of lotus and sainfoin may be due to the presence of condensed tannins which have been shown to improve protein digestion and utilization in indoor feeding trials.

Legume silages as supplements to a maize silage plus urea diet for young calves

1980 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-364
Author(s):  
D. M. Bowden ◽  
D. F. Osbourn ◽  
Margaret Gill ◽  
B. G. Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
Formic Acid ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Fish Meal ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Basal Diet ◽  
Maize Silage ◽  
Acid Diet ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Digestible Organic Matter

ABSTRACTForty British Friesian calves aged approximately 90 days, mean initial live weight 107 kg, were divided into five groups and the animals in each group offered, ad libitum for 84 days, one of five diets based on maize silage. The basal diet of maize silage and 20 g urea/kg dry matter (diet 1) was supplemented with fish meal at 47 g/kg dry matter (diet 2) or with legume silage supplements at 310 g silage dry matter/kg dry matter. The silage supplements were red clover ensiled with formic acid (diet 3), red clover ensiled with formic acid plus formaldehyde at 30 g/kg crude protein (diet 4), or sainfoin ensiled with formic acid (diet 5). Diets 1 to 5 contained 23·7, 28·8, 28·3, 28·3, and 27·1 g total nitrogen/kg dry matter respectively.The proportion of the total nitrogen insoluble in water, an indicator of the protein in the diet that was likely to escape degradation in the rumen, was 273, 356, 377, 413 and 339 g/kg for diets 1 to 5 respectively. Increasing the proportion of insoluble nitrogen in the diet by including fish meal or formaldehyde-treated red clover silage improved rates of live-weight gain and efficiency of feed conversion. Mean daily intakes of 15·2, 16·2, 16·2, 15·4 and 15·8 g digestible organic matter/kg live weight produced daily live-weight gains of 0·79, 1·05, 0·88, 0·93 and 0·83 kg/head by calves on diets 1 to 5 respectively. Diet 2 produced live-weight gains and gains per kg of digestible organic matter intake that were greater than those for diets 1, 3 or 5 (P<0·05), but not significantly greater than those for diet 4 (P<0·05). Calf live-weight gains were similar and satisfactory on the basal diet (maize silage and urea) and the diets with formic acid-preserved silage of red clover or sainfoin, but poorer than on the diet with 47 g fish meal/kg diet dry matter (P<0·05).

The effect of frequency of harvesting grass for silage and level of concentrate supplementation on the intake and performance of beef cattle

1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. J. Steen ◽  
W. A. McIlmoyle
Keyword(s):  
Beef Cattle ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Concentrate Supplementation ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Digestible Organic Matter ◽  
Cutting Interval ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Block Experiment

ABSTRACTA randomized-block experiment has been carried out over 2 consecutive years to examine the effects of frequency of harvesting grass for silage, and level of concentrate supplementation, on the intake and performance of beef cattle. Swards of S24 perennial ryegrass were harvested at 6-, 9- and 12-week intervals throughout the growing season, commencing on 14 May, 4 June and 25 June respectively. The three silages were offered ad libitum with 0, 1, 2 or 3 kg per head per day of cereal-based concentrates to 84 Hereford-cross suckled calves (mean initial live weight 313 kg) in a 3 × 4 factorial design experiment in each year. The treatments were imposed for a mean period of 100 days. The digestible organic matter in the dry-matter values of the silages harvested at 6-, 9- and 12-week intervals were 0·684, 0·646 and 0·607 respectively. The mean silage dry-matter intakes and live-weight gains for the silages harvested at 6-, 9- and 12-week intervals were 4·75, 4·70 and 4·74 (s.e. 0·08) kg/day, and 0·75, 0·67 and 0·52 (s.e. 0·020) kg/day, respectively. The mean silage dry-matter intakes and live-weight gains for the supplement at 0, 1, 2 and 3kg/day were 5·23, 4·79, 4·72 and 4·17 (s.e. 009)kg/day, and 0·38, 0·57, 0·75 and 0·88 (s.e. 0·023) kg/day, respectively. There was a significant interaction between cutting interval and level of supplementation for live-weight gain, the response to supplementation declining as silage digestibility increased.

The nutrition of the bacon pig: VII. the chemical composition, digestibility and nutritive value of different types of swill

1942 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Woodman ◽  
R. E. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Seasonal Variations ◽  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Chemical Nature ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Military Camp ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
Feeding Value

An account has been given of recent work on the chemical nature of war-time swill and on the best methods of using this product so as to ensure the maximum replacement of concentrates, consistent with economical live-weight gains, in the rations of bacon pigs.Three different types of swill have been submitted to investigation: (1) a meat-rich military camp swill, characteristic of the material available during the first 18 months of the war; (2) processed urban swill, commonly known as concentrated swill; and (3) dried, balanced swill. In addition, the results of an investigation into the variation in composition of household and restaurant swill are also given.The different types of swill have been examined from the standpoints of (1) main ingredients, (2) chemical composition, both organic and mineral, (3) digestibility, when fed to bacon pigs, and (4) nutritive value in comparison with mixtures of common pig foods. The keeping qualities of processed urban swill and dried, balanced swill have also been investigated, and attention has been devoted to the problem of the seasonal variations of urban swill in respect of main ingredients, chemical composition and feeding value.

Effect of grazing system, stocking rate and season of use on diet quality and herbage availability of alfalfa-grass pastures

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Popp ◽  
W. P. McCaughey ◽  
R. D. H. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Psathyrostachys Juncea ◽  
Grazing System ◽  
Herbage Quality ◽  
Digestible Organic Matter ◽  
Russian Wildrye ◽  
Meadow Bromegrass ◽  
Stocking Rates

A 3-yr field experiment was conducted (1991–1993) near Brandon, MB to determine the effects of continuous and rotational stocking, both at heavy (2.2 steers ha−1) and light (1.1 steers ha−1) stocking rates, and of season of use on nutritive value and sward characteristics of an alfalfa-grass pasture [approximately 70% alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), 25% meadow bromegrass (Bromus biebersteinii Roem & Schult.) and 5% Russian wildrye (Psathyrostachys juncea (Fisch.) Nevski)]. Grazed herbage quality and herbage mass were determined concurrently on continuous and rotational stocking treatments several times each year, as animals entered and exited the 5th of 10 rotationally stocked paddocks. Grazing system and stocking rate did not affect (P > 0.05) dietary CP and IVDOM, except once (P < 0.05) for IVDOM in 1993. Both ADF and NDF were sometimes greater (P < 0.05) on heavy compared to light stocking rate treatments, but did not differ (P > 0.05) between grazing systems. As the 1991 season advanced, there was a decline (P < 0.05) in CP, but IVDOM, ADF and NDF remained unchanged (P > 0.05). In 1992, seasonal declines (P < 0.05) in CP and IVDOM and increases (P < 0.05) ADF and NDF were observed for all treatments. In 1993, in vitro digestible organic matter and CP decreased (P < 0.05) on most treatments, while ADF and NDF increased (P < 0.05). Herbage mass tended (P < 0.10) to be lower when heavy stocking rates were used in all years, but was not affected (P > 0.05) by grazing system. Significant relationships (P < 0.001) among IVDOM, ADF and NDF were found. Neither grazing system nor stocking rate appeared to affect the quality of herbage ingested by cattle grazing alfalfa-grass pastures. Key words: Alfalfa, pasture, grazing system, stocking rate

scholarly journals Integrating novel forage management into sheep farm systems

2003 ◽  
pp. 75-81
Author(s):  
G.P. Cosgrove ◽  
M.G. Hyslop ◽  
C.B. Anderson ◽  
A.J. Litherland ◽  
M.G. Lambert
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Nutrient Intake ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Late Spring ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Animal Performance ◽  
Sheep Farm ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
Forage Management

Sheep have a higher intake of nutrients when offered continuous free access to ryegrass and white clover growing separately than when offered the same species growing as a mixture. To determine if this greater nutrient intake would translate to higher animal performance, three experiments of 3-6 weeks duration measured liveweight gain by ewes+twin lambs in early spring, weaned lambs in mid-late spring and hoggets during late winter to identify the class of sheep most responsive to this form of forage presentation. Offering pasture comprised of ryegrass and clover growing separately resulted in higher average daily gains for weaned lambs (330 vs 185 g/ day, P

The nutritive value of ground and pelleted barley straw. I. Ground and pelleted v. long straw for growing Ayrshire heifers

1966 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. W. A. Burt
Keyword(s):  
Nutritive Value ◽  
Day Treatment ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Experimental Period ◽  
Barley Straw ◽  
Energy Value ◽  
Weight Gains

1. Twenty-four individually fed yearling Ayrshire heifers were used to compare diets consisting of (1) long barley straw and concentrates; (2) the same quantities of similar foods as in (1) but with most of the barley straw ground and pelleted with a proportion of the concentrates in a ratio of 70:30; (3) replacement of the whole of diet (1) by the pelleted 70:30 mixture to provide a similar theoretical starch-equivalent intake.2. Live-weight gains over an experimental period of 10 weeks were: treatment 1, 0.55 lb./day; treatment 2,0.99 lb./day; treatment 3,1.23 lb./day. These differences were statistically significant and indicated a marked response in energy value due to processing the straw.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document