EFFECT OF AGE, ABOMASAL CANNULATION AND RUMEN CATHETERIZATION ON INTAKE AND SITE OF DIGESTION BY EARLY-WEANED LAMBS

The voluntary food intake, in vivo digestibility and site of nutrient digestion was measured in 12 Polled Dorset ram lambs, from 6 to 24 weeks of age, offered clover hay. Lambs were weaned at 6 weeks of age. Six were fitted with a permanent T-shaped cannula in the abomasum and a temporary rumen catheter during the periods of digesta flow measurement. Surgical modification of lambs did not influence intake (g/kg live weight (W) per day), in vivo digestibility or marker retention time in the rumen. However, intact lambs grew significantly faster than cannulated lambs (139 v. 109g/day, P 0 05) apparently because of an overall higher cumulative intake over the whole experimental period rather than any change in efficiency of use of nutrients or maintenance requirement. Relative to live weight, intake increased rapidly until c. 10 weeks of age and remained relatively constant at c. 37 g DM/kg W per day for the remainder of the experiment. Age had no effect on in vivo digestibility of organic matter (OM) or neutral detergent fibre MDR (average (1.69. The proportion of digestible organic matter apparently digested in the rumen (DOMADR) decreased from 0.63 to 0.47 between 8 and 24 weeks of age whilst intake between these measurement periods increased. Nonammonia N (NAN) flow past the abomasum was similar at all ages in relation to digestible organic matter intake (55.1 g NAN/kg DOMI) but was higher at 16 and 24 weeks of age than at 8 and 12 weeks of age, respectively, in relation to organic matter apparently digested in the nit-nem (C)MATIRI (116 and 85 g NAN/ka fIMADR regnertivelv P o.ns) Fractional outflow rate of digesta markers from the rumen, when estimated from abomasal digesta, was significantly higher than when estimated from faeces (103Ru-p 0.121 v. 0.09; 51Cr-EDTA 0.169 v. 0.111/h; P < 0.05). It was concluded that cannulation did not affect intake and digestion characteristics in these young lambs. The changes in the site of nutrient digestion as the animals aged may have been due to age-related changes in digestive function but appeared to be associated with the increase in intake that occurred between measurement periods of the cannulated lambs. © 1990, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.