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A Nutritive Value Index for Forages¹

Macdonald College² (McGill University), Canada

Abstract

This paper presents data on the voluntary consumption by sheep of various weights of nine forages that differed in feeding value either because of species of plant or because of stage of maturity when harvested. Digestibility was also measured for each forage, and live weight changes of the sheep recorded. It was found that by computing intake per unit of the metabolic size of the sheep, a description of voluntary intake was obtained that was independent of body weight of sheep (r²=0.058).

The intake of early bloom, chopped, dehydrated legume forage per unit (W_kg^.75) was found to be 80±10 gm. per sheep per day. Such forage was designated Standard Forage and the quantity, 80 (W_kg^.75), given an arbitrary numerical rating of 100. The relative intake, RI, of other forages was then computed as

Relative intake of forages multiplied by the percent digestibility of their energy gave figures that were correlated with feeding value as indicated by gain of the sheep fed. The correlations were of the order of r=0.88 to 0.94.

It was proposed therefore that Relative Intake of a forage x its percent energy digestibility be used as a Nutritive Value Index. It is also proposed that this Index can be predicted from in vitro fermentation.

¹ Macdonald College Pasture Committee Series No. XXXIII. This research was assisted financially by the Quebec Provincial Research Council.

² Department of Nutrition.

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