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Influence Of Forage Diversity And Condensed Tannins On Livestock Foraging Behavior, Production And Environmental Impact, Sebastian P. Lagrange
Influence Of Forage Diversity And Condensed Tannins On Livestock Foraging Behavior, Production And Environmental Impact, Sebastian P. Lagrange
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Eating a combination of forages with different chemistries (i.e., nutrients, beneficial compounds such as tannins) may enhance ruminant nutrition and reduce environmental impacts relative to eating single forages. I explored the influence of offering sheep and cattle all possible combinations of tanniferous (i.e., plants with tannins; birdsfoot trefoil, sainfoin) and non-tanniferous legumes (i.e., plants without tannins; alfalfa) or their monocultures on animal performance, behavior, and methane and nitrogen (N) emissions. Offering choices among these legumes to penned sheep improved intake and diet digestibility relative to feeding monocultures. Mixtures selected by sheep were better digested than mixtures containing equal parts of …