Table 3 Energy concentration of TMR composed of 33.5% maize silage, 21.6% rapeseed meal, 26.7% barley grains, and 18.2% of untreated straw, NaOH treated straw, or urea treated straw on DM basis.

From: Physicochemical characterisation of barley straw treated with sodium hydroxide or urea and its digestibility and in vitro fermentability in ruminants

Energy level (MJ/kg DM)

Untreated

NaOH

Urea

GE

18.5

18.1

18.1

DE

13.9

14.1

13.4

ME

11.3

11.5

11.2

NEL

6.9

7.1

6.9

  1. The straw treatments are specified in the text. GE was determined by bomb calorimetry, DE was calculated on the basis of GE digestibility determined in the digestibility trial, ME was calculated on the basis of crude nutrient digestibility determined in the digestibility trial, and NEL was calculated on the basis of GE and ME according to GfE29.
  2. DE, digestible energy; DM, dry matter; GE, gross energy; ME, metabolizable energy; NEL, net energy lactation; TMR, total mixed ration.
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