TY  - JOUR
T1  - Intake Behaviour and Digestive Effects of Electronic Identification with Ruminal Bolus in Adult Goats
AU - , D. Martin AU - , G. Caja AU - , A. Arguello AU - , N. Castro AU - , S. Alvarez AU - , J. Capote 
JO  - Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances
VL  - 5
IS  - 12
SP  - 1088
EP  - 1092
PY  - 2006
DA  - 2001/08/19
SN  - 1680-5593
DO  - javaa.2006.1088.1092
UR  - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=javaa.2006.1088.1092
KW  - Digestibility
KW  -goats
KW  -ruminal bolus
KW  -traceability
AB  - The effect of the ruminal bolus on the intake behaviour and digestive parameters was studied in a group of 12 castrated adult Majorera goats. For the experiment they were housed in a metabolic box for 2 weeks to  allow  for  adaptation  and   fed   either  an  ad  libitum Fibrous Diet (FD) (n = 6) or a Concentrated Diet (CD) (n = 6) offered at 130% of the previous day’s consumption. The animals were subsequently divided into two similar  subgroups:  bolus  (identified  with  Rumitag Bolus&reg;) and control (simulated application). After one week  of  feeding with the definitive diet, the measuring period started, which lasted for 12d divided into two sub-periods separated by the application moment (subperiod I: 6d, before bolus application; sub-period II: 6d, after bolus application). Samples of faeces and material refused by the animal were collected daily in order to determine DM, OM, CP, NDF and ADF. For the FD group a significant difference was found due to the period on  DMI  being  higher  in  sub- period  II,  but  there  were  no  significant statistical differences due to the bolus treatment. For the CD group, DMI increased during sub-period II due to the overall time spent in both sub-groups. Digestibility parameters results were probably conditioned by the stress which was caused by the accumulation of days in the pen. Taking the evolution of daily DM per kg<SUP>-0.75 </SUP>live weight intake into account, both groups presented a similar decrease in  intake the day after bolus application, to a great extent due to the stress caused by the identification procedure, nevertheless they recovered their DMI level 48 h after application of the bolus. No statistically significant differences in diet intake and digestibility parameters were found due to the application of the ruminal bolus.
ER  -