Intake and digestibility of different forages in llamas compared to sheep

Results of four trials, in which intake and digestibility of nine roughages had been measured, were pooled to make a comparison between llamas and sheep fed dry forages. Llamas and sheep ingest, on average, similar levels of dry matter: 15.8 against 17.7 g DM/kg LW, or 49.2 against 51.1 g DM/kg LW0.75. The values for each species are significantly related, but with a low slope, llamas ingest more straw and a lower quantity of high-graded forages than sheep. Overall mean digestibility in llamas is better than in sheep: +2.5 points for OM and +4.3 for cell walls. Digestibilities in both species are well correlated, with an important difference for the low-graded, but no difference for high-graded forages. The mean level of non-digestible crude protein content of diets is higher by 4 g/kg DM in llamas than in sheep. For each species the intake and digestibilities are positively related to the crude protein content of the roughages and negatively to their NDF content. ((C) Elsevier/Inra.).