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Are sheep able to develop preferences or aversions in response to an increase of rumen fill?
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INRA, UR1213 Unit for Herbivorous Research, 63122 Saint Genès Champanelle, France
 
 
Publication date: 2007-09-17
 
 
Corresponding author
R. Baumont   

INRA, UR1213 Unit for Herbivorous Research, 63122 Saint Genès Champanelle, France
 
 
J. Anim. Feed Sci. 2007;16(Suppl. 2):454-459
 
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ABSTRACT
We conducted two conditioning experiments to investigate whether sheep are able to develop preferences of aversions in response to an increase of rumen fill performed with 300 or 600 g chopped straw introduced through the rumen fistula. When sheep where fed a basal diet of hay (Experiment 1) they developed aversions against the feeds associated with the increase of rumen fill without a dose effect. When they were fed a diet of pellets of beet pulp (Experiment 2) they developed neither preferences nor aversions. These results indicate that physical consequences of feed intake are integrated by the animals and that they can contribute to diet choice via diet learning.
 
CITATIONS (2):
1.
Feeding behaviour of sheep fed lucerne v. grass hays with controlled post-ingestive consequences
A. Favreau, C. Ginane, R. Baumont
animal
 
2.
Feeding behaviour in ruminants: a consequence of interactions between a reward system and the regulation of metabolic homeostasis
C. Ginane, M. Bonnet, R. Baumont, D. K. Revell
Animal Production Science
 
ISSN:1230-1388
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