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Title: STOCKER LAMB PREFERENCE FOR COOL SEASON GRASS HAY HARVESTED IN THE AFTERNOON

Author
item Appeddu, Lisa
item Brown, Michael
item Coleman, Samuel
item Phillips, William

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/15/2000
Publication Date: 1/27/2001
Citation: APPEDDU, L.A., BROWN, M.A., COLEMAN, S.W., PHILLIPS, W.A. STOCKER LAMB PREFERENCE FOR COOL SEASON GRASS HAY HARVESTED IN THE AFTERNOON. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE. 2001. v. 103 Abstract p. 25.

Interpretive Summary: Abstract Only.

Technical Abstract: Effects of cool season grass hay variety and morning or afternoon harvest time on lamb preference and performance were investigated. 'Paiute' orchardgrass, 'Luna' pubescent wheatgrass, 'Triumph' fescue, and 'Jose' wheatgrass were cut for hay at 0730 (AM) and 1400 (PM) in April 1998. Winter wheat was cut in AM only. Crossbred lambs (BW = 29 +/- 4.0 kg) were eindividually penned to select between AM and PM cuttings within the same hay variety (n = 12) or between PM grass hays and wheat AM (n = 20). Lambs were offered each cutting or variety at 2% of initial body weight, and both hays were removed when one was consumed. Lambs consumed more (P< .001) PM- vs AM-cut hay (291 vs 164 +/- 13.6 g/d), primarily in 'Jose' and 'Fescue.' Across varieties, wheat and 'Luna' were preferred the most (P< .001) and 'Triumph,' the least (P< .001). To evaluate intake and gain, 36 crossbred lambs (BW = 31 +/- 2.5 kg) were fed one of the nine hay varieties and cuttings ad libitum for 20 d. Intake tended (P< .10) to be higher for 'Paiute' and 'Luna' as compared to 'Jose' and 'Triumph' (940, 949, 1115, 1141, and 978 +/- 67.3 g/d for 'Triumph,' 'Jose,' 'Luna,' 'Paiute,' and wheat, respectively). Gain:feed was increased (P= .04) in lambs fed PM- vs AM-cut hay (.23 vs .20 +/- .0104) ) primarily in 'Luna' and 'Jose.' Cutting cool season grasses later in the day increased lamb preference, but increases in intake and gain efficiency depended on hay variety offered and the opportunity to select.