Effect of Pelleting on the Digestibility of Hay by Sheep

The effect of grinding and/or pelleting on the digestibility of nutrients from hay by sheep was determined at Beltsville, Maryland. Digestibility of the gross nutrients of three different hays, which varied considerably in quality, was determined on two bases or on the “as consumed” and on the “as fed” bases. Refusal of the long hay varied from 9.5 to 16.2% although the levels of feeding were near maintenance requirements for energy. Refusal of the ground hays was very low and no refusal of pelleted hay occurred. When the digestion coefficients were calculated on the “as consumed” basis, as is usually done in digestion trials, grinding and/or pelleting appeared to reduce digestibility of the hays. However, when digestion coefficients were calculated on the “as fed” basis either grinding and/or pelleting increased the digestibility of the nutrients and the TDN content of the two poorer quality hays.