01731naa a2200229 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000190006024500790007926000090015852010790016765000190124665000160126565000200128165000130130165000180131465000210133265300250135370000170137870000160139577300900141120922092018-06-05       1980    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aPOWNALL, D. B.  aEffects of soil-contaminated feed on dry matter and water intake in sheep.  c1980  adietary soil contents ranging from 0 to 800 g/kg DM. These mixtures were offered arl libitum to 30 sheep in each of two trials of 6 weeks? duration. Voluntary intake was similar on all treatments, there being no compensation for reduced digestible dry matter (DDM) content in treatments containing soil. Intake appeared to be limited by weight of dry matter (DM) rather than by nutritive value or volume. Liveweight changes were directly proportional to DDM intake. Metabolizable energy requirement for maintenance was reached when soil comprised 55 to 60% of the diet and the basal feed used contained approximately 11.3 MJ of ME/kg DM. Water intake initially appeared to be inversely proportonal to the amount of soil consumed; but a third trial demonstrated that total water intake was directly related to DDM intake and independent of soil consumption. Sheep can ingest large quantities of soil for several weeks without dramatic consequences, but as DDM intake is not increased to compensate for dietary soil contamination, animal production will be adversely affected.  aAnimal feeding  aFeed intake  aLiveweight gain  aPastures  aSheep feeding  aVoluntary intake  aUnrestricted feeding1 aLUCAS, R. J.1 aROSS, A. D.  tProceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Productiongv. 40, p. 106-110, 1980.