The effect of frequency of feeding on the utilization of roughage diets by sheep

Abstract

A diet of 800 g of lucerne pellets was fed to three sheep at 24 hr intervals and compared with a diet of 100 g of lucerne pellets fed to the same three sheep at 3 hr intervals. There were no significant differences in digestibility and nitrogen balance. It was suggested that the significant (P < 0.05) difference in body weight gain may have been due to an increase in total body water. Increasing the frequency of feeding decreased the range of values observed between feeding for pH and VFA concentrations. There were no changes in the molar proportions of the VFA or in the proportion of the digested energy accounted for by the VFA. The results suggest that the sheep did not benefit substantially from frequent feeding.