In situ crude protein and dry matter ruminal degradability of heat-treated barley

This study aimed to determine the nutritive value of barley (untreated and heat treated at 120 degrees C) in Ghezel sheep by using the nylon bag technique. Three fistulated Ghezel sheep with an average body weight (BW) of 50.5 +/- 2.5 kg were used in a completely randomized design. The degradability of ruminal dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) was measured in situ at 0, 4, 8, 16, 24, 36 and 48 h. DM degradability of untreated and treated barley at 48 h showed significant differences (P<0.05). Moreover, difference in terms of CP degradability between untreated and treated barley at 48 h was found significant (P<0.05). The comparison of different digestion models showed that model 3 provided the best fit for measuring DM and CP of untreated and treated barley.