ADAPTATION OF THE RUMEN BAG DIGESTIBILITY TECHNIQUE FOR USE IN GOATS

Problems with maintaining service and equipment in some developing countries suggest that the rumen bag technique may be more appropriate for the determination of plant dry matter digestibility. The technique has been adapted for use in goats in the 16-25 kg liveweight range. Reliable results were obtained for animals maintained under shelter in cages and fed on a mixed legume/grass diet. The results showed that up to 7 bags containing dried and ground (2 mm screen) plant samples (1-3 g) could be satisfactorily used in each goat. The digestibility of the legumes studied did not increase with incubation times over 48 hours, but there was an increase in the digestibility of grasses. However an incubation time of 48 hours was adapted for both legumes and grasses as it allowed more efficient work scheduling for large numbers of samples while still giving acceptable comparisons between species. Losses of material from the bags during a 6 hour soaking in water were 2-9% as fine solids and 14-21% in solution. In the method finally adapted the disappearance was measured for plant samples that were placed in Dacron mesh bags ($7{\times}14cm$, 44 micron) and 6 bags suspended in the rumen of each sheep for 48 hours.