Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-g78kv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-26T18:56:33.524Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The control of voluntary food intake in ruminants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

J. B. Owen
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Downing Street, Cambridge
D. A. R. Davies
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Downing Street, Cambridge
W. J. Ridgman
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Downing Street, Cambridge
Get access

Summary

An experiment to test the effect on the voluntary food intake of lambs of giving diets containing 0, 20, 40 and 60% of either coarse or finely ground oat husks, in either a loose or pelleted form, is described and the results discussed. The results showed that voluntary intake was uniformly depressed with increased dilution of the diet with oat husks when the oat husks were coarse and the diet given loose. However, when the oat husks were finely ground and when the diet was pelleted the response to dilution was much modified and in the case of older, heavier lambs intake initially increased with dilution. It is concluded that ruminants may sometimes be able to respond to increased diet dilution so as to maintain their maximum digestible-energy intake but that the attempt is often thwarted to varying degrees according to the physical form of the food. An hypothesis is suggested for the pattern of response in food intake to be expected according to the type of food given.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1969

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Balch, C. C. and Campling, R. C. 1962. Regulation of voluntary food intake in ruminants. Nutr. Abstr. Rev. 32: 669686.Google ScholarPubMed
Minson, D. J. 1963. The effect of pelleting and wafering on the feeding value of roughage—a review. J. Br. Grassld Soc. 18: 3944.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, J. B., Davies, D. A. R., Miller, E. L. and Ridgman, W. J. 1967. The intensive rearing of lambs. Anim. Prod. 9: 509520.Google Scholar
Owen, J. B., Davies, D. A. R. and Ridgman, W. J. 1968. Artificial rearing of lambs. Anim. Prod. 10: 244. (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Owen, J. B. and Ridgman, W. J. 1967. Effect of dietary energy content on the voluntary intake of pigs. Anim. Prod. 9: 107113.Google Scholar
Owen, J. B. and Ridgman, W. J. 1968. Further studies of the effect of dietary energy content on the voluntary intake of pigs. Anim. Prod. 10: 8591.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swan, H. and Lamming, G. E. 1966. Studies on the nutrition of ruminants. Anim. Prod. 9: 203208.Google Scholar
Troelsen, J. E. and Bell, J. M. 1963. A comparison of nutritional effects in swine and mice. Responses in feed intake, feed efficiency and carcass characteristics to similar diets. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 43: 294302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar