The goats raised in the barn are usually fed on fresh grass. As dry forage can be stored for long periods in large amounts, dry forage feeding makes it possible to feed large numbers of goats in barns. This review explains the physiological factors involved in suppressing dry forage intake and the cause of drinking following dry forage feeding. Ruminants consume an enormous amount of dry forage...

The reaction of ingested forage plant fragments to the rumen environment may contribute to the rapid degradation of plant cell contents in the rumen. A series of experiments were used to explore the hypothesis that plant-mediated proteolysis (PMP) contributes to N loss from fresh forage entering the rumen, and to investigate the potential for identifying cultivars with reduced PMP. During an in...

A digestion study with 28 yearling heifers (428 +/- 9.9 kg; Exp. 1) and a 2-yr winter grazing trial with 60 crossbred cows (552 +/- 6.9 kg; Exp. 2) were used to determine the effects of level of nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) supplementation on intake and digestibility of low-quality forage. Treatments were as follows: 1) control, no supplement; 2) 0.32 kg of NSC (1.8 kg/d of soybean hulls an...

Alfalfa losses and quality changes begin as soon as the mower contacts the standing crop and these losses continue until the preserved feed is consumed. Harvest losses are caused by plant respiration, rain, and mechanical damage by equipment. Loss from plant respiration is relatively small when the crop is dried quickly under good drying conditions, but under slow drying conditions it can be up...

Extending grazing into the winter, as opposed to feeding of harvested forages, can increase the sustainability of ranching in the western US. This study was conducted to determine the economic value of grazing stockpiled forage kochia (Kochia prostrata [L.] Scrad.) and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum [Fisch. Ex Link] Schultes) during the fall and winter. Changes in cow body weight, bod...

Silage is not a replacement for good pasture management, but it is a means of making the most of a sound grassland programme. It is an effective method of preserving surpluses of immature forage for use when pasture is in short supply or completely lacking. While quality silage is an excellent feed it is still a substitute .for the original product-pasture herbage. The problem in making silage ...

Many factors affect the silage fermentation process. For example, the DM content and buffering capacity of the crop to be ensiled, the amount of fermentable sugar available at ensiling and the type and numbers of microorganisms that dominate the fermentation process can markedly affect fermentation. However, Woolford (1990) stated that “the single most important factor which influences the effi...

Field dry hay needs to be reduced from near 80% moisture to 20% or less to prevent spoilage during storage. Drying hay to safe baling moistures often takes several days. Sources of loss during forage harvest include mechanical losses such as mowing, conditioning, chopping, raking, packaging and handling as well as respiration and leaching. The general relationship between forage moisture concen...

Studies over 3 years showed that testicular volume falls during summer and autumn when forage quality and availability decline and when rams are mating. Loss in testicular size may also occur in summer in the absence of mating activity and at a greater rate than loss in live weight. The results suggest that mating and nutrition may override the influence of photoperiod on testicular size and th...