Supplementing crested wheatgrass range with shrubs to meet nutrient requirements of sheep for fall and early winter grazing


Category:  Range Science
Linked Publication
Language: English
Author(s): Robert M. Otsyina
Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of supplementing crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum) with some common rangeland shrubs and the necessary proportions of shrub and grass in the diet to meet the nutrient requirements for gestating sheep during the late fall and early winter grazing season with particular reference to protein and energy. Shrubs studied include fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens), winterfat (Ceratoides lanata), rubber rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. albicaulis), and big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana). All the shrubs studied were consistently higher in both total and digestible protein than crested wheatgrass over the period of study. Fourwing saltbush and winterfat with 8.24 and 6.31 percent digestible protein, respectively, were found to be the most promising shrubs to be used as supplements to crested wheatgrass. Sheep would require a minimum of 56 and 69 percent of fourwing saltbush and winterfat, respectively, in the diet to meet dietary requirements for gestation. Sagebrush and rabbitbrush were lower in digestible protein content, 4.04 and 4.43 percent, respectively, and therefore could not be used alone with crested wheatgrass.