Equipment and housing for intake and digestibility studies with large numbers of wethers

Abstract

In many nutritional experiments with cut pasture the voluntary intake and digestibility is determined with pen-fed sheep. However, the voluntary intakes of sheep are extremely variable, the between-animal coefficient of variation varying between 13·1% and 10·5% (Blaxter, Wainman & Wilson, 1961; Minson, Harris, Raymond & Milford, 1964). Thus each pasture cut must be fed to large numbers of animals if differences between pasture species and varieties are to be detected with significance. (Heaney, Pritchard & Pigden, 1968.)