The effects of rations containing different levels of roughage to concentrate on nitrogen balance and crude nutrient digestibility by sheep under heat stress

Thesis title: The Effects of Rations Containing Different Levels of Roughage to Concentrateon Nitrogen Balance and Crude Nutrient Digestibility by Sheep Under Heat StressAuthor: Hulusi AKÇAYIn this study, the effects of isonitrogenic rations containing different levels ofroughage to concentrate (80/20, 65/35, 50/50 ve 35/65) on the crude nutrient digestibility,nitrogen balance and some rumen parameters of sheep under heat stres were investigated. Thestudy was conducted in Latin-square experimental design the hottest period of the with fourKarya wethers. With the ascending ratios of concentrate; digestibility of dry matter (p<0.01),organic matter (p<0.01), crude protein (p<0.05), NDF (p<0.05) and, rumen propionic acidlevel (p<0.01) were increased, on the contrary ADF digestibility values (p<0.01), acetic acidlevels (p<0.01) and pH (p<0.01) were reduced. Meanwhile, butyric acid and NH3-N levelswere not effected by different levels of rations. As the roughage in rations increases, nitrogenretention values were also increased (p<0.01).KEY WORDS: Sheep, digestibility, nitrogen balance, volatile fatty acids, pH