| Popis: |
To study the effect of moisture content of the diet on drinking behavior and the amount of water drunk, observations were made on eight Holstein steers fed either fresh cut forage or first cut hay. The observations were made in a barn with a mean temperature of about 13°C. When hay was fed there was no significant day-to-day variation in drinking behavior. With fresh cut forage there were daily variations in moisture concentration and drinking behavior. Drinking occurred mainly within 3 h after feeding for the steers fed hay, while those fed soilage drank casually. Frequency of drinking ( F ) was related to the dry matter concentration [DMC (%)] of herbage: F=0.47(±0.09) DMC −6.5, SE =±0.4, r=0.86, P Intake of drinking water for each 100 kg of live weight (IDW per 100 kg) for steers fed soilage was related to the dry matter concentration: IDW per 100 kg =0.55(±0.06) DMC −8.7, SE =±0.3, r=0.94,P The intake of water in each drinking period for animals fed fresh forage was curvilinearly related to the drinking frequency; for the hay-fed steers there was a negative linear relationship. When the drinking frequency for steers fed the fresh forage increased to the same as that observed for the hay, water intake in each drinking period was the same as found for the hay-fed steers. The frequency of drinking and the amount of water drunk by steers fed fresh forage approached the levels of those fed hay, as the dry matter concentration in soilage approached a certain range lower than that of hay. |
