Infrequent drinking, digestive efficiency and particle size of digesta in black Bedouin goats

When given access to water once every 4 days, black Bedouin goats that were fed dry lucerne hay required, on average, only half the water and 60 % of the gross energy they consumed when water was offered to them once daily. Digestibility of the feed in these goats was increased by 4 %. The outflow of fluid from the rumen slowed down during the water deprivation period. A flow rate of 1080 ml/kg⁰⁷⁶day was recorded during the 1st day of the period and only 350 ml/kg⁰⁷⁵day during the last day. While being offered water once daily the outflow from the rumen amounted to 1243 ml/kg^0.76day. Following the subjection of black Bedouin goats to infrequent drinking the mean retention time of the digesta in the rumen was extended by 33% and in the entire gastrointestinal tract by 43 %. It is suggested that the slowing down of the ruminal flow that followed the subjection of the goats to infrequent drinking enabled the particulate matter to stay longer in the digestive tract despite their smaller size.