Table 1.
Ingredients and nutritional composition of diets fed during the study
| Period | Adaptation and preliminary | Experimental | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | E2 | E3 | ||
| Ingredients, % as fed | ||||
| Lucerne hay | 75 | 57.3 | 43.2 | 9.6 |
| Oat grain | 25 | 19.2 | 33.6 | 67.2 |
| Wheat straw | − | 19.2 | 19.2 | 19.2 |
| Urea | − | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Mineral mix1 | − | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| HCHO casein2 | − | + | + | + |
| Nutritional composition | ||||
| Dry matter, % | 90 | 93.2 | 93.4 | 91.1 |
| Crude protein, % DM | 15.2 | 10.9 | 13.3 | 16.5 |
| RDP, %DM | 11.6 | 8.6 | 10.0 | 12.7 |
| RUP, %DM | 3.6 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
| M/D, MJ ME/ kg DM | 10 | 7.8 | 9.2 | 10.7 |
Minerals: 1% NaCl, 1.5% ground limestone, and 0.05% trace mineral mixture (Hegarty et al, 1999).
Formaldehyde-treated casein (Hemsley et al. 1973); + Offered as 0,30,60,90 g/d with small amounts of molasses and lucerne chaff 2 h prior to offering pelleted diets.