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7.4 The Effect of Supplementary Starch and Urea on the Digestion of a Heather-Based Diet by Sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2018

R. W. Mayes  and
C. S. Lamb
R. W. Mayes
Affiliation:
Hill Farming Research Organization, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0PY
C. S. Lamb
Affiliation:
Hill Farming Research Organization, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0PY
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Extract

Sheep grazing heather hills in winter normally ingest a mixture of heather and indigenous herbage, predominantly Agrostis and Festuca spp. Under these conditions during mid-pregnancy, ewes at high stocking rates may lose excessive live weight leading to poor subsequent lambing performance. This undernutrition may be attributed, in part, to low voluntary intakes of herbage and, possibly, to insufficient amino acids being absorbed from the small intestine, since the availability of nitrogen (N) of heather is very low, both in the rumen (Milne, Christie and Russel, 1979) and in the small intestine (MacRae, Milne, Wilson and Spence, 1979). Supplementation could increase the nutrient supply to ewes grazing predominantly heather, since voluntary intake of a heather: Agrostis/Festuca (⅔:⅓) diet was not depressed when a urea and starch supplement was fed (J. A. Milne, A. M. Spence and H. A. Fisher, unpublished). The following experiment was conducted to examine the effects of such a supplement on ruminal digestion and the absorption of non-ammonia nitrogen (NAN) and organic matter (OM) from the small intestine and hind gut.

Type
7. Theatre Presentations I
Information
BSAP Occasional Publication , Volume 6: Forage Protein in Ruminant Animal Production , 1982 , pp. 149 - 150
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Production 1982

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References

MacRae, J. C. and Evans, C. C. 1974. The use of inert ruthenium-phenanthroline as a digesta particulate marker in sheep. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 33: 10A–11A.Google Scholar
MacRae, J. C., Milne, J. A., Wilson, S. and Spence, A. M. 1979. Nitrogen digestion in sheep given poor-quality indigenous hill herbages. Br. J. Nutr. 42: 525–534.Google Scholar
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Milne, J. A., Christie, A. and Russel, A. J. F. 1979. The effects of nitrogen and energy supplementation on the voluntary intake and digestion of heather by sheep. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 92: 635–643.Google Scholar