Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2014
Abstract
Blanketing of horses is a very common management routine. Sometimes, this practice may seem unjustified. Therefore, we wanted to investigate the preferences of the horses themselves. First we developed a method by which the horse learned to communicate its wishes. Thirteen horses were trained to associate three different neutral visual symbols presented to them on a board with the actions 1) blanket is taken off, 2) blanket is put on, and 3) stay as is, and subsequently to communicate their wish by pointing at the relevant symbol. These horses had experience of wearing a blanket, but daily routines varied. All individuals which started the training programme succeeded in learning the task. Second, we tested the horse’ opinion under differing weather conditions. Horses normally wearing a blanket were tested with the blanket on, and those which normally did not, without. At the test days, the horse was taken out of its group and placed in a round pen. To be allowed to leave the round pen and join its pals again, the horse first had to make a choice among two symbols presented to them; to stay as is or to have the blanket removed/put on. The test was repeated under different climatic conditions (from -15 to + 20°C, sunny days and days with precipitation and wind) for each horse during winter, spring and autumn 2013. Preliminary results show that all horses made “sensible” choices. Nine out of the 13 horses wanted to remove the blanket for at least one test day. Naturally, cold blooded horses more often preferred to stay without, and shaved warm blooded horses more often preferred to stay blanketed. However, there were individual differences in both groups, showing that owner perception and the horse own opinion not always matched.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
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No abstract has been registered
Abstract
This study compared the forage quality of Festulolium entries of festucoid (Hykor) and loloid attributes (Felopa and Norwegian candivars) with major cultivars of the parent species perennial ryegrass and meadow fescue, and with timothy. Forage NDF, iNDF, kdNDF and DDM were analysed at vegetative stage, early heading, heading and anthesis during spring growth (SG) and two subsequent regrowths over two production years at two locations in Norway. NDF and iNDF increased and kdNDF and DDM decreased with advancing maturity, mostly expressed in SG, with negative correlations between DDM and NDF and iNDF and ADL and strong positive correlations with kdNDF. In SG, across years and locations, the content of NDF at heading stage was 30% higher and iNDF 400% higher in stems than in leaves, while stem kdNDF was about 50% of that in leaves. In general, timothy cv. Grindstad and Festulolium cv. Hykor had the highest NDF and iNDF and the lowest kdNDF values. Loloid entries of Festulolium were quite similar to perennial ryegrass, although the tetraploid entry proved better than the others with respect to forage quality. Regarding nutritive value, the festucoid and loloid types of Festulolium should be considered separate groups. The effect of year was more pronounced than that of location, for which the ranking of entries was quite similar. Loloid Festulolium is prone to winter damage and, although it has higher nutritive value than the parent species, its use will depend on the conditions for winter survival.
Authors
Ragnhild Aabøe Inglingstad Håvard Steinshamn Binyam Sime Dagnachew Bernardo Valenti Andrea Criscione Elling-Olav Rukke Tove Gulbrandsen Devold Siv Borghild Skeie Gerd Elisabeth VegarudAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
We report results from trials on chicory growth (experiment 1) and lamb growth on chicory (experiment 2). In experiment 1, we assessed yield and chemical composition on swards established under organic conditions as perennial ryegrass/red clover, perennial ryegrass/chicory, chicory/red clover (CHRC), pure perennial ryegrass (RG-alone) and pure chicory (CHalone) over two years. Chicory/red clover and CH-alone showed improved crude protein, Ca, Mg, P, Cu and net energy contents compared to other mixtures. However, dry matter yield was the lowest for CHRC and CH-alone compared to others. In experiment 2, 48 weaned lambs grazed swards sown as chicory alone (CHA), chicory–grass–clover mix (CGC) or grass–clover mix (GCM) for 45 days. Lamb body weight (BW) gain and final BW were higher on CHA and CGC than on GCM. The results suggest that chicory can complement conventional grass/clover swards especially in macro- and micronutrients for improved lamb growth with a proper grazing management in place
Authors
S Stergiadis Carlo Leifert Christopher John Seal Mick D Eyre Håvard Steinshamn Gillian ButlerAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Mallikarjuna Rao Kovi Mats Höglind Hans Martin Hanslin Gaurav Sablok Stephen Byrne Torben Asp Odd Arne RognliAbstract
No abstract has been registered
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No abstract has been registered
Authors
Katarzyna Dąbrowska-Zielińska Piotr Goliński Marit Jørgensen Jørgen A.B. Mølmann Gregory TaffAbstract
No abstract has been registered