HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Van Dyne, G. M. Articles by Meyer, J. H. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Van Dyne, G. M. Articles by Meyer, J. H.

Forage Intake by Cattle and Sheep on Dry Annual Range¹

University of California, Davis

Abstract

ALTHOUGH range forage is the major source of nutrients for millions of livestock and game animals, relatively little is known about its quantitative intake. The lignin ratio, chromogen ratio, or fecal nitrogen index procedures have been used to calculate forage intake by range livestock, but these methods are subject to limitations under many conditions.

This paper reports on an experiment designed (1) to determine effects of changes in herbage availability on forage intake by catfie and sheep on mature annual range, (2) to compare different indicator techniques for calculating forage intake, and (3) to compare a new method of calculating forage intake, based on microdigestion, to the lignin ratio procedure.

Methods

Grazing studies were conducted early in July, August, and September 1961 (periods I, II, and III) on an annual grass, open-oak woodland range on the Hopland Field Station in northern California. Herbage availability, determined by clipping 100 randomly located

¹ H. F. Heady, G. P. Lofgreen and W. C. Weir are acknowledge for their suggestions and interest. This work was supported in part by Regional Research Project W-34, Range Livestock Nutrition. Computational work was supported in part by N.I.H. Grant FR-00009.

² Presented address: Radiation Ecology Section, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.