Relative digestion, metabolism and microbial activity in sheep and goat on grass-concentrate diet.

摘要

The study was conducted to determine the effect of grass-concentrate diet on sheep (n=5) and goat (n=5) rumen digestion, metabolism and microbial activity. The animals were fed with dry grass and concentrate mixture at a ratio of 70:30 for three months period. The feed intake, nutrients utilization, nitrogen balance, rumen metabolites production and rumen microbial activity were examined in both animals. Results revealed that feed intake was similar for both sheep and goat. It was observed that the crude protein (CP) and organic matter (OM) digestibility was higher in goat (53.59+or-1.50 and 59.24+or-1.78) than sheep (43.01+or-1.78 and 52.67+or-1.08), respectively. Nitrogen balance was similar between species, but faecal-nitrogen loss was higher in sheep. The observed feeding frequency was significantly higher in sheep when compared with goat. Rumen metabolites (TVFA, total-nitrogen and ammonia-nitrogen) and concentration of bacteria and protozoa were higher in the goat than sheep, while rumen fungi were higher in sheep. It is concluded that goats have better and efficient nutrient utilization when compared with sheep..