Seasonal preference of Awassi sheep for atriplex shrubs suitable for Mediterranean rangelands

The relative preference of Awassi sheep for four promising Atriplex species, A. halimus, A. nummularia, A. canescens and A. lentiformis was tested in cafeteria trials.Atriplex species were offered to sixteen sheep in cafeteria-type experiments during two seasons, spring and autumn.After an adaptatio...

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Autores principales: Wamatu, Jane, Louhaichi, Mounir, Rubanza, C.D.K., Alkhtib, Ashraf, Rischkowsky, Barbara A.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/98493
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author Wamatu, Jane
Louhaichi, Mounir
Rubanza, C.D.K.
Alkhtib, Ashraf
Rischkowsky, Barbara A.
author_browse Alkhtib, Ashraf
Louhaichi, Mounir
Rischkowsky, Barbara A.
Rubanza, C.D.K.
Wamatu, Jane
author_facet Wamatu, Jane
Louhaichi, Mounir
Rubanza, C.D.K.
Alkhtib, Ashraf
Rischkowsky, Barbara A.
author_sort Wamatu, Jane
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The relative preference of Awassi sheep for four promising Atriplex species, A. halimus, A. nummularia, A. canescens and A. lentiformis was tested in cafeteria trials.Atriplex species were offered to sixteen sheep in cafeteria-type experiments during two seasons, spring and autumn.After an adaptation period of 7 days, sheep were offered the species over eight consecutive days.The species were placed in troughs for two hours in the morning after overnight fasting.Sheep were housed individually in pens adjacent to each other.In both seasons, whole species and their botanical fractions were evaluated for chemical composition and in vitro digestibility.The variability of nutritive value among species was not dependent on season or botanical fraction.Time series analysis showed that intake levels and ranking of species did not change over the eight days.Average daily proportions (%) of whole shrub eaten were A. halimus (70.9) A. nummularia (70), A. lentiformis (65.3), and A. canescens (57.9).In autumn, the same order of consumption was maintained, though intake levels tended to be lower compared to spring.The behavioral pattern revealed that the number of return visits to troughs and time spent feeding on species did not influence intake levels.The botanical structure of species explained 20% of the variation in proportion of intake of whole species.The proportion of leaf was the major contributor to variation in proportion of intake of whole species.Relative preference of whole species was explained by intake, nutritive value and fractional proportions of the botanical fractions.
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spelling CGSpace984932024-10-03T07:40:47Z Seasonal preference of Awassi sheep for atriplex shrubs suitable for Mediterranean rangelands Wamatu, Jane Louhaichi, Mounir Rubanza, C.D.K. Alkhtib, Ashraf Rischkowsky, Barbara A. animal feeding feeds legumes sheep small ruminants The relative preference of Awassi sheep for four promising Atriplex species, A. halimus, A. nummularia, A. canescens and A. lentiformis was tested in cafeteria trials.Atriplex species were offered to sixteen sheep in cafeteria-type experiments during two seasons, spring and autumn.After an adaptation period of 7 days, sheep were offered the species over eight consecutive days.The species were placed in troughs for two hours in the morning after overnight fasting.Sheep were housed individually in pens adjacent to each other.In both seasons, whole species and their botanical fractions were evaluated for chemical composition and in vitro digestibility.The variability of nutritive value among species was not dependent on season or botanical fraction.Time series analysis showed that intake levels and ranking of species did not change over the eight days.Average daily proportions (%) of whole shrub eaten were A. halimus (70.9) A. nummularia (70), A. lentiformis (65.3), and A. canescens (57.9).In autumn, the same order of consumption was maintained, though intake levels tended to be lower compared to spring.The behavioral pattern revealed that the number of return visits to troughs and time spent feeding on species did not influence intake levels.The botanical structure of species explained 20% of the variation in proportion of intake of whole species.The proportion of leaf was the major contributor to variation in proportion of intake of whole species.Relative preference of whole species was explained by intake, nutritive value and fractional proportions of the botanical fractions. 2017 2018-12-08T13:09:31Z 2018-12-08T13:09:31Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/98493 en Open Access Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences Wamatu, J.A., Louhaichi, M., Rubanza, C.D.K., Khatib, A.S., Alkhtib, A. and Rischkowsky, B. 2017. Seasonal preference of Awassi sheep for atriplex shrubs suitable for Mediterranean rangelands. Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences 5(Spl-1- SAFSAW)
spellingShingle animal feeding
feeds
legumes
sheep
small ruminants
Wamatu, Jane
Louhaichi, Mounir
Rubanza, C.D.K.
Alkhtib, Ashraf
Rischkowsky, Barbara A.
Seasonal preference of Awassi sheep for atriplex shrubs suitable for Mediterranean rangelands
title Seasonal preference of Awassi sheep for atriplex shrubs suitable for Mediterranean rangelands
title_full Seasonal preference of Awassi sheep for atriplex shrubs suitable for Mediterranean rangelands
title_fullStr Seasonal preference of Awassi sheep for atriplex shrubs suitable for Mediterranean rangelands
title_full_unstemmed Seasonal preference of Awassi sheep for atriplex shrubs suitable for Mediterranean rangelands
title_short Seasonal preference of Awassi sheep for atriplex shrubs suitable for Mediterranean rangelands
title_sort seasonal preference of awassi sheep for atriplex shrubs suitable for mediterranean rangelands
topic animal feeding
feeds
legumes
sheep
small ruminants
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/98493
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