The feeding value of the ration based on alfalfa haylage supplemented with high moisture corn in wether sheep

Abstract

The objectives of the experiment were to examine the effects of high moisture corn (HMC) supplementation to alfalfa haylage (Medicago sativa L.) (AH) on feed intake, digestibility and nitrogen (N) balance in wether sheep. The study consisted of three feeding treatments incorporating AH only and AH supplemented with 5 or 10 g HMC d-1kg-1 body weight of Suffolk wethers. Inclusion of HMC in the AH based ration had negative linear effects on acid detergent fibre (ADF) intake (p<0.001) and digestibility (p<0.05) while a positive on the digestibility of dry matter (DM) (p<0.05), organic matter (OM) (p<0.01) and the digestibility of OM in DM (D-value) (p<0.01). A positive associative response of AH and HMC was observed for DM and OM ad libitum intake (g kg-1M 0.75d-1) (quadratic, p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). Negative linear effects of AH and HMC were observed for nitrogen (N) intake (p<0.05). The inclusion of HMC into AH based ration did not influence N balance in wether sheep. It was concluded that a positive associative response of the two forages was recorded for a limited number of parameters, probably due to lower quality of HMC than required for improved utilization of the AH based ration.