Retention times in the rumen of roughages and a protein supplement

Abstract

The extent to which proteins fed to ruminants are degraded in the rumen is determined by their rate of degradation and retention time in the rumen. It is known that retention times in the rumen are much longer for poor quality than for good quality roughages. Thus, it is possible that protein supplements may be more extensively degraded when fed with poor than when fed with good quality roughages. The present experiment was designed to determine the relationship between retention times of roughages and a protein supplement fed with them.