Rate of passage of digesta in sheep

Abstract

1. Sheep given 400 and 1200 g lucerne chaff/d in equal hourly meals were infused continuously with the complex 51 Cr EDTA into the rumen for 5 d and then slaughtered. The retention times of 51 Cr EDTA along the small intestine and the apparent quantities of water absorbed in the small and large intestines were calculated. 2. The apparent quantities of water absorbed for the 400 and 1200 g food intakes were 5844 and 13110 ml/d in the small intestine and 2101 and 8520 ml/d in the large intestine respectively. 3. The mean total retention times of 51 Cr EDTA in the small intestine were 136 and 91 min for the sheep given 400 and 1200 g/d respectively. The marker was retained up to seventeen times longer in the ileal than in the duodenal or proximal jejunal segments.