Digestibility of Forages by the Meadow Vole (Microtus Pennsylvanicus)

Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) were fed semipurified diets of alfalfa, brome grass, and orchardgrass hays in concentrations between 20 and 100%. The hays were the only source of cell walls in the diet. Dry matter digestibility decreased as the cell wall content in the diets increased. Cell w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of dairy science 1970-10, Vol.53 (10), p.1502-1508
Main Authors: Keys, J.E., Van Soest, P.J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
hay
Microtus pennsylvanicus
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Summary:Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) were fed semipurified diets of alfalfa, brome grass, and orchardgrass hays in concentrations between 20 and 100%. The hays were the only source of cell walls in the diet. Dry matter digestibility decreased as the cell wall content in the diets increased. Cell walls and cellulose increased in digestibility as cell wall in the diets increased. Hemicellulose digestibility in the diets followed a curvilinear pattern. Hemicellulose decreased in digestibility as the cell wall content of the diets increased to approximately 28% and then digestibility of hemicellulose increased. Most voles survived on diets with up to 50% cell walls but died on diets with more than 55% cell wall contents. The vole digestibility results were compared with digestibilities from sheep, swine, horses and rats fed hay of similar composition.
ISSN:0022-0302
1525-3198
DOI:10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(70)86422-0