Ra. Distel et al., EFFECTS OF EARLY EXPERIENCE VOLUNTARY INTAKE OF LOW-QUALITY ROUGHAGE BY SHEEP, Journal of animal science, 72(5), 1994, pp. 1191-1195
This study determined 1) how experience early in life with cured weepi
ng lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) (low-quality roughage) or fresh oats
(Avena sativa) (high-quality roughage) affected consumption of low- o
r high-quality roughage by lambs later in life and 2) whether this ear
ly dietary experience affected passage of undigested residues through
the digestive tract and digestion of low-quality roughage. From 1 to 5
mo of age, experienced lambs (EL) were grazing cured weeping lovegras
s, whereas inexperienced lambs (IL) were grazing fresh oats. Immediate
ly after exposure, in Trial 1 lambs were fed sorghum( Sorghum bicolor)
hay(low-quality roughage) supplemented with 9 protein concentrate. In
Trial 2 lambs were offered sorghum only. Finally, in Trial 3 lambs we
re offered a choice between sorghum and alfalfa hay. When the sorghum
was supplemented with protein there was no difference (P > .05) betwee
n treatments in intake of sorghum, but when the supplement was withhel
d in Trial 2, EL ingested 20% more (P < .01) sorghum than IL. When giv
en a choice between sorghum and alfalfa, EL ingested 2.5 times more (P
< .01) sorghum than IL. The apparent digestibility of sorghum was 4.5
% higher(P < .01) in EL than in IL, whereas passage of undigested matt
er through the digestive tract was similar(P > .05). The results show
that early dietary experience can have a significant effect on consump
tion of low-quality roughage and diet selection in free-choice situati
ons.