Evaluation of Total Fecal Collection for Measuring Cattle Forage Intake

Abstract

Conventional digestibility trials with steers were conducted to evaluate relationships between actual forage intake and estimated forage intake using the total fecal collection procedure. Actual forage intake of 6 of the 9 forages fed was not accurately estimated by the widely used technique of dividing total fecal output by forage indigestibility estimated by in vitro procedures. This was because 48-h in vitro digestibility poorly estimated in vivo digestibility of 6 forages. Regression equations based on in vivo-in vitro digestibility relationships can reduce but not solve this problem because in vivo processes such as mastication and rumination are bypassed with in vitro techniques. The use of a 36-h microbial digestion period for nongrasses and a 72-96-h microbial digestion period for grasses shows potential to improve in vitro digestibility estimates of cattle in vivo digestibility. Another potential means of improving in vitro digestibility estimates is to select the highest digestibility value from forage or diet samples subjected to 36-, 48-, 60-, 72-, 84- and 96-h microbial digestion periods.