Publication Date
1993
Description
Weaned 5-month-old lambs grazed 2 series of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) plots containing patches of mixed perennial ryegrass and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) varying in either a) the size of patches or b) the distance between patches. Both series embraced the same range of percentages (1-25) of ryegrass-clover patches in each plot. Diet composition was estimated from the pattern of naturAI alkanes in faeces collected between days 6 to 15 after allocation of the lambs to the treatments. The percentage of clover in the diet declined markedly from days 6 to 11 and thereafter increased slightly. Dietary clover percentage was positively related to the percentage of clover in the treatment plots; it was also greater than the percentage of clover in plots, especially in treatments wilh lower percentages of clover. There was no difference between lhe relationships for the treatments varying in patch size and chose varying in the distance between patches.
Citation
Armstrong, R H.; Robertson, E; Lamb, C S.; Gordon, I J.; and Elston, D A., "Diet Selection by Lambs in Ryegrass-White Clover Swards Differing in the Horizontal Distribution of Clover" (2024). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 14.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1993/session18/14
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Diet Selection by Lambs in Ryegrass-White Clover Swards Differing in the Horizontal Distribution of Clover
Weaned 5-month-old lambs grazed 2 series of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) plots containing patches of mixed perennial ryegrass and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) varying in either a) the size of patches or b) the distance between patches. Both series embraced the same range of percentages (1-25) of ryegrass-clover patches in each plot. Diet composition was estimated from the pattern of naturAI alkanes in faeces collected between days 6 to 15 after allocation of the lambs to the treatments. The percentage of clover in the diet declined markedly from days 6 to 11 and thereafter increased slightly. Dietary clover percentage was positively related to the percentage of clover in the treatment plots; it was also greater than the percentage of clover in plots, especially in treatments wilh lower percentages of clover. There was no difference between lhe relationships for the treatments varying in patch size and chose varying in the distance between patches.
