1990). Feeding straw to small ruminants: effect of amount offered on intake and selection of barley straw by goats and sheep. ABSTRACT The hypothesis that increasing the amount of straw offered and allowing animals to refuse proportionately more than 0-1 to 0-2 would increase intake and quality of the straw consumed was tested in two experiments with castrated goats (aged 6 to 31 months) and one with wether sheep (aged 6 to 18 months). Each trial (over 21 to 42 days following 14 to 35 days preliminary feeding) involved individually feeding long barley straw and concentrate supplement (15 g dry matter (DM) per kg live weight (M 075 ) daily) and monitoring the quantity and quality of straw offered and straw refused. The results supported the hypothesis. In experiment 1, with 18 goats per treatment, those allowed to refuse 500 rather than 200 g straw per kg DM offered consumed more (18-9 and 14-4 g DM per kg M" 75 per day, s.e.d. 0-70) and their straw refusals contained more digestible organic matter (DOM) in vitro (347 and 320 g/kg DM, s.e.d. 7-7). For both treatments, refusals were less digestible in vitro than the straw offered (412 g DOM per kg DM). Thirty-six goats in experiment 2 (over 42 days) offered increasing amounts of straw (18, 54 and 90 g DM per kg M 075 per day) consumed more (15-5, 22-8 and 26-2 g DM per kg M per day, s.e.d. 0-74), refused more (125, 566 and 703 g/kg DM offered) and the refusals were of increasing digestibility in vitro (354, 370 and 403 g DOM per kg DM, s.e.d. 14-5). All refused straw was inferior to that offered (443 g DOM per kg DM). The estimated intake of straw DOM was markedly improved by offering more straw (7-2, 12-8 and 14-5 g per kg M" 75 per day). Experiment 3, using 30 wethers over 21 days fed as in experiment 2, showed similar treatment responses, although absolute intakes of straw were lower. The responses observed are comparable to improvements in intake following treatment of straw with alkali. Further research is required to determine optimum feeding rates as affected by straw quality and animal productivity level. Practical feeding strategies will also need to consider utilizing refused straw.

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The effect of xylazine (0.05 and 0.15 rng/kg, intramuscularly) on food (concentrate) intake was examined in ewes. Xylazine at 0.15 mg/kg significantly increased the 2 and 24 h food intake in comparison with control values. Xylazine treatments significantly and dose-dependently decreased the heart rate, respiratory rate and ruminal moulity, and increased the rectal temperature when compared with pretreatment values. The changes in the physiological variables and the slight tranquilizing effect of xylazine apparently did not interfere with the food intake. The data suggest that xylazine increases food intake in freely feeding sheep.

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0003356100017761How to cite this article: R. A. Wahed and E. Owen (1986). Comparison of sheep and goats under stall-feeding conditions: roughage intake and selection. Animal Production, 42, pp 89-95 ABSTRACT Three experiments measured intake and assessed quality of roughage refused by individually-fed castrated Saanen goats and Suffolk x Mule wethers, aged 21 months.In experiment 1, in which long, lucerne hay was offered (10 animals per species; 14 days) goats ate more than sheep (33-2 v. 28-3 g dry matter (DM) per kg M daily; P < 0-05). In experiment 2, in which long, ammonia-treated barley straw was offered (eight animals per species; 21 days) consumption was also higher for goats (21-6 v. 16-4 g DM per kg M daily; P < 0-01). Freshly cut, chopped stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) was offered with treated straw in experiment 3 (eight animals per species). Over the 10 days, intake of nettle increased linearly and that of straw decreased, but nettle consumption was consistently higher for goats than sheep.In each experiment, food refusals (0-2 of food offered) were of lower nutritive value (lower nitrogen, higher acid detergent fibre, lower digestibility in vitro) than food offered. Throughout, food refusals by goats were of slightly higher nutritive value than food refusals by sheep.It is concluded that both sheep and goats are selective feeders under stall-feeding conditions, but the greater intake of roughage by goats cannot be attributed to their selection of more nutritive components.

The study aimed at improving the conventional irrigation management practices to enhance yield and water use efficiency for pre-planned irrigation scheduling of wheat and cotton crops. Five field experiments were conducted during 1990-94. A 3-year study of moisture deficit irrigation (MDI) to wheat V-85205 continued with the same irrigation schedule(s) for two years and the third year irrigation schedule(s) were modified on the basis of the preceding year's results. It indicated that the crop was most sensitive to moisture deficit at tillering stage and least sensitive at flowering stage. In the fourth experiment, three preselected wheat genotypes; Sarsabz, LU-26S and Pasban-90 showed different response to moisture deficit. Comparable yields to respective conventional irrigation schedule (1111) were obtained by MDI schedule (1011), (1110) and (1101) for Sarsabz, LU-26S and Pasban-90, respectively. The fifth experiment conducted on the genetic diversity of two pre-selected cotton genotypes NIAB-86 and FH-682 subjected to moisture deficit at vegetative, generative or maturity stages yielded 7% and 9% more seed cotton at MDI (110) excess over conventional irrigation treatments (111) saving 150 mm of irrigation water. Thus, saving of 75 and 150 mm of irrigation water for wheat and cotton crops respectively was achieved by applying improved irrigation schedule without undergoing any significant yield loss.