Design and methodology of choice feeding experiments with ruminant livestock

Meier, Janina S.; Kreuzer, Michael; Marquardt, Svenja

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2012.04.008

Cited by 39 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 141 publications

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“…The difference between the results of our study and the studies of Sahin et al (2003) and Keskin et al (2004) may be related to energy intake because the present finding with regard to energy intake is higher than that reported by these authors. Also these difYıldırım et al ferences may be due to difference in age, size and diet offered to animals in the studies and may be attributed to differences in genotype, physiology and learning ability (Dikmen et al, 2009;Meier et al, 2012). TMR-fed lambs consumed less total dry matter (P<0.05), metabolizable energy (P<0.01), soybean meal (P<0.01), corn (P<0.01) and crude protein (P<0.01) than FCF-fed lambs whereas FCF-fed lambs consumed less alfalfa hay (P<0.01), barley (P<0.05), wheat bran (P<0.01) and energy to protein ratio (P<0.01) than TMR-fed lambs (Table 2).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kaya (2011) reported that TMR-fed lambs reared outdoors in hot climate showed less rate of ruminating but more rate of lying behaviour, while FCF-fed lambs consumed more amount of concentrate feed ingredients, such as full fat soya and wheat bran without changing their behaviour patterns. However, Meier et al (2012) reported that the use of FCF systems need to be optimized because an important limitation of such experiments is that the results are only valid for the specific situation tested and cannot be generalized. To optimize the use of FCF system, the influence of FCF system with same ingredients as in TMR on feeding behaviour such as eating, ruminating and drinking, other welfare behaviours such as standing, playing and resting as well as diet selection and fattening performance requires further study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Birth Weight and Feeding System on Fattening Performance and Feeding Behaviour of Karayaka Male Lambs

Yıldırım¹,

Ulutaş²,

Ocak³

et al. 2013

Italian Journal of Animal Science

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To determine effects of birth weight (BtW) and feeding system on fattening performance and behavioural responses of lambs, after birth 28 Karayaka male lambs were divided into two BtW groups, namely a low BtW (4.1±0.06 kg) and high BtW (5.0±0.09 kg). After weaning (90 days of age), seven lambs in each of these groups were fed individually ad libitum with total mixed ratio (TMR), consisted of 80% of a compound feed and 20% of roughage based on a dry matter basis (140 g crude protein and 2550 kcal ME/kg) and the other seven lambs were fed on the same ingredients as that of TMR but each ingredient was put in separate troughs (free choice feeding, FCF). Therefore the lambs were distributed into four groups according to 2 (low vs high BtW) × 2 (TMR vs FCF) factorial design. Live weight gains and intakes of dry matter, feedstuffs and nutrients of the lambs were affected by the FCF, but not by the BtW and their interaction. The daily weight gain (P<0.01), intakes of soybean meal and corn (P<0.01), dry matter (P<0.05), protein and energy (P<0.01) of FCF-fed lambs were higher than those of TMRfed lambs. FCF-fed lambs consumed less alfalfa hay, wheat bran and barley than TMR-fed lambs (P<0.01). The FCF increased rumination (P<0.01) and tend to rest more (P<0.05) compared to the TMR. The study suggests that FCF system can assist in enhancing the live weight gain by promoting the protein and energy intakes and by improving the welfare of lambs.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Birth Weight and Feeding System on Fattening Performance and Feeding Behaviour of Karayaka Male Lambs

Yıldırım¹,

Ulutaş²,

Ocak³

et al. 2013

Italian Journal of Animal Science

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“…Choice feeding tests have long been the standard method for assessing herbivores' motivation to eat a particular food (Meier et al, 2012), and a common assumption is that animal's preference for a given food is proportional to its relative rewarding properties ('matching law;' e.g., Matthews and Temple, 1979). If so, improvements in the incentive value of a low-quality food through conditioning should lead to a proportional increase in its preference.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expression of conditioned preference for low-quality food in sheep is modulated by foraging costs

Catanese

Distel

Villalba

2015

Animal

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Past positive experiences can increase herbivores' motivation to eat low-quality foods. However, this is not always translated into a higher preference for low-quality foods in choice tests among foods of higher nutritional quality. Foraging behavior is also affected by properties of the feeding context because the quality and abundance of foods in nature change in time and space. We hypothesized that in a choice situation, the expression of a past positive experience with a low-quality food is modulated by the costs associated with selecting a high-quality food option. A total of 24 sheep were randomly assigned into two groups (n = 12). During conditioning phase, one group (CS+ ; i.e., conditioned group) was fed with oat hay (a low-quality food) for 20 min and immediately after a ration of soybean meal (a nutritious food), whereas the other group was also fed with oat hay but the offer of soybean meal was delayed 5 h (CS− ; i.e., control group). After conditioning, we assessed sheep motivation to eat the oat hay in an experimental arena in which accessibility to alfalfa hay (a high-quality food) was increasingly restricted. When alfalfa hay was readily accessible, CS+ and CS− sheep almost exclusively selected this food, showing a small and similar preference for oat hay. However, when accessibility to alfalfa hay decreased, intake and selection of oat hay was greater in the CS+ sheep than in the CS− sheep. The latter was a consequence of differential changes in behavior between groups; for example, sheep in CS+ spent more time foraging oat hay and were more likely to switch to oat hay if they had previously been eating alfalfa hay than sheep in CS− . Our results show that behavioral expression of the conditioned preference for a low-quality food depends on parameters of the feeding context (e.g., availability). We suggest that this can be the link between learning models and optimal foraging models of diet selection.Keywords: low-quality foods, learning, foraging behavior, diet selection, sheep ImplicationsPositive nutritional experiences with low-quality foods can change animals' motivation to eat them; although, this is not always translated into a higher preference for these foods when foraging. Foraging decisions are also affected by the temporal and spatial distribution of foods. We show that positive experiences with low-quality foods improve preferences only if access to high-quality foods is restricted. Animals prefer to 'eat the best and leave the rest,' but if the best is restricted, they 'eat the best of the rest;' and here is where past experiences with low-quality foods impact preferences. IntroductionThe nutritional context in which a low-quality food is ingested can affect herbivores' subsequent behavior toward that food. For instance, intake of and preference for flavored lowquality hay by lambs is greater when its consumption is immediately followed by the ingestion of a high-quality food than when ingestion of the high-quality food is delayed (Freidin et al., 2011 and. Likewise, sheep showed h...

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“…Both experiments followed the same protocol taking into account important issues which could influence choice experiments (Meier et al, 2012). Before starting the experiments, the animals passed a 7-day adaptation period (Fig.…”

Section: Design Of the Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intake pattern and nutrient supply of lactating sheep selecting dried forage from woody plants and straw offered in binary or multiple choice

Meier

Liesegang

Louhaichi

et al. 2014

Animal Feed Science and Technology

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This study investigated whether offering either binary or multiple choice among low quality forages has an effect on intake and feeding behaviour compared to no-choice situations where only one single low-quality forage is offered. Forages from different woody plants and straw were tested in lactating sheep either in Syria (Exp. 1; Awassi sheep) or in Switzerland (Exp. 2; East Friesian Dairy sheep). Artemisia herba-alba, Atriplex leucoclada, Haloxylon articulatum, Noaea mucronata, and Salsola vermiculata were used in Exp. 1. The three most preferred plants (A. leucoclada, H. articulatum and S. vermiculata) were tested again in Exp. 2 together with Betula pendula, Castanea sativa and Juglans regia. Both experiments started with a binary choice test where one plant and barley straw were offered separately for 4 h in the morning to six sheep (test period) in a random sequence in consecutive 7-day sub-periods. A control group (n = 6 per experiment) received only straw in the test period. For the rest of the day, a basal diet composed of straw ad libitum and concentrate was offered. After the binary choice test, two 2-week periods followed, where in the first straw only and in the second all test plants were offered to all animals from both groups to ascertain equal familiarisation with all plants. For the following 7-day multiple choice test animals were allocated to two new groups. The 'multiple choice' group could choose among all test plants and straw during the 4-h test period, the 'control' group received only the basal diet. Intakes of test feeds during 4 h and 24 h as well as feeding behaviour during the first 30 min were recorded. Additionally, nutrient intake was determined. Total daily test feed intake was always higher in the choice groups, but this was more pronounced in the multiple choice situation (Exp. 1: 30 and 48, Exp. 2: 49 and 74 g dry matter/kg live-weight0.75 with 'control' and 'multiple choice', respectively). A. leucoclada (Exp. 1; proportionately 0.73 of total test plant intake) and B. pendula (Exp. 2; 0.87) were the preferred plants in the multiple choice test and also with binary choice. Most other feeds were only consumed in low amounts in the binary and even less in multiple choice situations. In conclusion, giving sheep the choice among low quality forages seemed to be advantageous. Even though in both experiments animals preferred especially one plant, choice still facilitated intake. t r a c tThis study investigated whether offering either binary or multiple choice among low quality forages has an effect on intake and feeding behaviour compared to no-choice situations where only one single low-quality forage is offered. Forages from different woody plants and straw were tested in lactating sheep either in Syria (Exp. 1; Awassi sheep) or in Switzerland (Exp. 2; East Friesian Dairy sheep). Artemisia herba-alba, Atriplex leucoclada, Haloxylon articulatum, Noaea mucronata, and Salsola vermiculata were used in Exp. 1. The three most preferred plants (A. leucoclada, H. articulatu...

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Design and methodology of choice feeding experiments with ruminant livestock

Cited by 39 publications

References 141 publications

Effects of Birth Weight and Feeding System on Fattening Performance and Feeding Behaviour of Karayaka Male Lambs

Effects of Birth Weight and Feeding System on Fattening Performance and Feeding Behaviour of Karayaka Male Lambs

Expression of conditioned preference for low-quality food in sheep is modulated by foraging costs

Intake pattern and nutrient supply of lactating sheep selecting dried forage from woody plants and straw offered in binary or multiple choice

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