Abstract

    An experiment was carried out to study the effect of duration of incubation on the digestibility with the aim to reduce the time of incubation of the first stage digestion. This could be achieved if method for improving the potency of faecal liquor is evolved and verified. To estimate the time required to complete digestion of forages, triplicate samples of ryegrass and two varieties of straw were incubated in the faecal liquor for digestion for the periods of 0, 3, 6, 9, 24, 34, 48, 58, 72, 80 or 96 hours. It was observed that the incubation time required to complete digestion in faecal liquor for ryegrass and straw was 58 and 96 hours, respectively. The rate of digestion was maximal from 9 to 48 hours during which time approximately 1.11 mg/hour were solublised. 

Keywords: Forages, in vitro digestibility, faecal liquor