Temporal change in rumen parameters of sheep fed either arrowleaf clover, biserrula or French serradella pasture ad libitum in late spring-summer

摘要

No studies have previously investigated temporal rumen parameters of sheep fed second generation annual pasture legumes biserrula (B; Biserrula pelecinus L.), French serradella (FS; Ornithopus sativus Brot) and new accessions of arrowleaf clover (AC;Trifolium vesiculosum Savi) under ad libitum feeding conditions. Sheep grazing B pastures are known to develop aversions to the plant (Thomas et al., 2014). Reports have labelled AC as a "bloat-free" legume containing condensed tannins (Thompson, 2005);however, this has not been quantified in new accessions.