Energy balance and methane production in sheep fed chemically treated wheat straw.

摘要

15 Muzaffarnagari ram lambs, weighing 42 kg, were randomly assigned to three groups and used to study the effect of chemically treated wheat straw on methane production and energy balance. Wheat straw was treated with: (1) urea (4 kg urea/100 kg DM)with a storage time of 21 days (treatment I; control); (2) urea (1.5 kg per 100 kg DM) with no storage (treatment II); or (3) urea + calcium hydroxide (3 kg urea + 3 kg calcium hydroxide per 100 kg DM) with a storage time of 21 days (treatment III). Allstraws were fed ad libitum. The crude protein content of the straw was 7.8, 7.9 and 7.6% in treatments I-III, respectively. Corresponding DM intake was 43.7, 34.9 and 49.5 g/kg body weight0.75, respectively, which was significantly higher in treatment III than in treatment II. The DM digestibility in treatments I (54.2%) and III (50.9%) was higher than that of treatment II (42.7%). The daily digestible energy (DE) intake (kJ/kg body weight0.75) was higher in treatments I (412) and III (471) than in treatment II (282). A similar trend was observed in ME intake. Dily methane production per kg digested organic matter (OM) was lower in treatments I (301) and III (291) than treatment II (461). The energy balance (kJ/kg body weight0.75 per day) in treatments I (113) and III (170) was higher than that in treatment II (-40).