The Effect of Alfalfa Ash upon the Digestibility and Utilization of Cottonseed Hulls by Sheep

Abstract

The addition of alfalfa ash to a semi-purified ration for sheep in which all minerals except calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chlorine and sulfur were supplied by cottonseed hulls improved the digestibility of all ration components. A marked loss in weight was noted in sheep receiving the basal ration, and it was found that this condition could be reversed by addition of alfalfa ash. A depletion-repletion regimen was therefore feasible, and was used to study the effect of various additives to the basal ration. With this technique, a synthetic alfalfa ash promoted weight gain equal to that on natural alfalfa ash, while cobalt resulted in no improvement.