Effects of feeding lambs fresh versus dried Puccinellia tenuiflora (Griesb.) Scribn. & Merr. on water and nutrient intake and apparent digestibility

Abstract

The objective was to investigate effects of feeding lambs fresh versus dried Puccinellia. tenuiflora (Griesb.) Scribn. & Merr. on nutrient and water intake and apparent digestibility. Twenty-four lambs were offered fresh or dried (48 hr) grass. The dry matter (DM) content of fresh grass was 65% of dried grass and the neutral detergent fiber exclude ash (aNDFom) content of fresh grass was 87% of dried grass, whereas the metabolizable energy concentration of two forages was similar. Lambs eating fresh grass had higher (p < .05) DM intake (944 versus 837 g DM day⁻¹ sheep⁻¹), metabolizable energy intake (9.1 versus 7.9 MJ day^-1sheep⁻¹), and crude protein intake (86 versus 75 g day^-1 sheep⁻¹) than those eating dried grass. However, there was no significant difference between treatments in drinking water intake, fecal nutrient output or nutrient digestibility. In conclusion, feeding lambs fresh P. tenuiflora improved voluntary feed intake without depressing nutrient digestibility.