Seven rumen and duodenal cannulated lambs, were allocated in metabolic cages and were fed ad libitum with Stylosanthes guianensis hay. The in situ technique was used for determination of the degradability of the hay, at 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours of incubation. The passage rate of solids was determined using chromium mordant as external marker. The pH of the rumen liquid was measured at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours after feeding and the ammonia concentration at 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 hours after feeding. The degradation rate, the potential degradability, and the effective degradability of dry matter (DM) were 8.5%/h, 38.1% and 30.3%, respectively. The degradation rate of crude protein (CP) was 9.7%/h, the potential degradability was 56.0% and the effective degradabilty was 47.5%. The cellulose presented larger effective degradability than hemicellulose, with the respective values of 22.5% and 8.9%. The passage rate for solids was 2.7%/h. The pH decreased linearly with time of rumen fluid sampling. For the time of 5.13 hours after feeding, the highest ammonia concentration (12.18 mg/100ml) was observed. The S. guinanensis hay showed high degradation rates and low ruminal degradability of DM and CP.
Sheep; Stylosanthes guianensis; hay; rumen; degradability; passage rate
