Comparison of grass silage utilization by reindeer and sheep: 1. Palatability, feeding values and nutrient supply

• Main Author: Liisa Syrjälä-Qvist
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Scientific Agricultural Society of Finland 1982-04-01
• Series: Agricultural and Food Science
• Online Access: https://journal.fi/afs/article/view/72096

The utilization of silages prepared from grass at three different growth stages was studied with three adult reindeer and three adult sheep. Palatability, digestibility and nitrogen balance trials were performed according to the Latin-square design. As the different silages were similar in chemical composition and quality, the results are mainly expressed and discussed as the averages for all three. The intake of silage dry matter(DM) by the reindeer averaged 938 g/day and the intake by the sheep 1787g/day. These values corresponded to intakes of about 3.7kg and 7.1kg fresh silage, and 16g and 27g DM/kg liveweight, respectively. The total water consumption (water from feed + water drunk) for the reindeer was 5 g/kg DM eaten and for the sheep 3kg. The digestibility of the different silage constituents was similar in the reindeer and sheep, but the apparent digestibility of crude protein was significantly (P