ROUGHAGE FOR SHEEP
It is a well-known fact that sheep thrive best on “firm” feed. The diet of wild sheep, consisting of fibrous grasses and herbs, contains a high proportion of crude fibre, which is apparently essential for the proper stimulation of the digestive processes of this animal. Hence, this is one of the values of roughage when sheep are being fed in winter on watery foods such as roots and chou moellier. Roughage is characterised by bulkiness and high content of indigestible fibre. In this group are included
the cereal straws, hay of various kinds, chaff, and rough “stemmy” winter grazing. These contain fronbi 20 to 40 per cent of fibre and about 14 per cent of moisture. These foods provide bulk and are more useful for maintenance than for production. Fed to excess, they lower the nutritive value of the ration. For sheep, only the best fine or leafy hays, and especially clover hay or lucerne hay, should be used, as they waste a large proportion of coarse, stemmy hay which can be more economically fed to cattle.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/BPB19480816.2.7.3
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Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 82, 16 August 1948, Page 3
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180ROUGHAGE FOR SHEEP Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 82, 16 August 1948, Page 3
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