Browsing by Subject "factors affecting intake"

The aim of this study was to investigate how the quality of silage affects the silage intake of reindeer. There were two growth stages of primary growth and regrowth silage in the study. Aerobic stability of silage was observed after opening the silage bales. The experimental silages were made at the fields of MTT Agrifood Research Finland in Apukka, Rovaniemi. The study was conducted at the reindeer pen of Lapland Vocational College. There were four groups of female reindeer, six animals in each, and one silage type per group. Feeding trial lasted eight weeks with two weeks pre-period before. Reindeer were fed ad libitum in the mornings. The biggest differences of chemical composition of silages were between primary growth and regrowth silage. The growth stage did not affect to the chemical composition. Aerobic deterioration of silages was not observed during three weeks exposure to air because ambient temperature remained above zero almost constantly. Silage residue had lower D-value, crude protein, AAT and PBV content and higher concentration of NDF-fiber compared to the given feed. The selection of feed differed between primary growth and regrowth silage based on crude protein and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) contents. This is may be because of the excess of crude protein and WSC relative to nutrient requirements of reindeer or that the variables are correlated with the other variables which explain the intake. Silage intake was higher when dry-matter content was higher and lower when crude protein content was higher. WSC had slightly positive effect to the intake. Intake seemed to be curvilinearly related to the content of fermentation products. Effective utilization of silage requires analyses on the chemical composition of silage.