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Intensive pastoral systems have moved away from diverse and varied diets towards overly simple monotonous diets. Feed choice through time is an obsolete way of providing forage to animals, as intensive management schemes generally allocate a single herbage or a dyad mixed sward. Monotonous feeding regimes impose nutritional repetition, which may impair animal performance and welfare. The objective of this experiment was to determine the impact of a diverse diet [DIV; free choice from perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), and chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) at all times], a varied diet [VAR; choice from ryegrass and plantain in the AM (0700–1600 h), and chicory and alfalfa in PM (1600–0700 h)], and a single forage diet of alfalfa [SFA; alfalfa at all times], on DMI, performance, and welfare of lambs. Six-month-old Coopworth ram lambs (n = 21) were offered their respective fresh-forage treatment (n = 7) diet indoors for 20 d. The DIV lambs consumed 1.64 ± 0.03 kg DM/d (mean ± SEm), which was 6% more (P < 0.05; 1.54 ± 0.03 kg DM/d) than the SFA and were not different (P > 0.05; 1.59 ± 0.03 kg DM/d) to the VAR lambs. Average daily gain (ADG) of DIV (296 g/d) and VAR (378 g/d) was 30% and 67% greater (P < 0.05) than that in the SFA lambs (227 g/d), respectively. The VAR lambs had 28% greater (P < 0.05) ADG than the DIV lambs. Differences among treatments were detected (P < 0.05) for the proportion of the day spent conducting the following behaviors: eating, ruminating, idling, lying, and standing. In addition, the number of bouts of stereotypic behaviors recorded from the SFA lambs (13.2 ± 2.2) was 150% greater (P < 0.05) than the DIV (5.1 ± 1.0) and VAR (5.5 ± 1.0) lambs. Our results suggest that the varied diet offered can improve animal performance and welfare compared to a monotonous SFA diet. Feeding management to provide a varied diet can improve performance relative to giving lambs free choice from taxonomically diverse forage options. Moreover, performance is affected by more than the primary chemical composition of the diet consumed, but how the diet is presented through time and the herbage species and quantities of each that are consumed to reach that chemical composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of offering animals a multi forage choice (MF) of fresh herbages on dry matter intake (DMI), live weight gain, and animal welfare, in comparison with a monotonous diet of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Twenty ram lambs (30.5 ± 0.9 kg initial live weight; mean ± SEM), were randomly allocated to either a diet consisting of diverse MF choice or a single forage ryegrass (SF) diet (n = 10 per treatment) for 35 d. Both diets were fed ad libitum; however, the MF diet was composed of set dry matter ratios of 24% chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), 30% lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), 25% plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.), and 21% ryegrass. The DMI of the MF lambs was 48% greater (P < 0.01) and the within animal day-to-day coefficient of variation (CV) of intake was 26% lower (P < 0.01) than the SF lambs. The average daily gain (ADG) of lambs offered the MF diet was 92% greater (P < 0.01) than the lambs offered the SF diet. The within-animal day-to-day CV of intake was negatively related to ADG (r = −0.59; P < 0.01). The MF lamb’s urinary N concentration was 30% lower (P < 0.01) than that of the SF lambs. The SF lambs spent more time (P < 0.05) exhibiting stereotypic behaviors in the afternoon and spent more time observing other animals than the MF. Overall, allocating an MF choice of fresh herbages as opposed to a single forage diet of ryegrass increases DMI and thereby animal performance, while potentially reducing urinary N excretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]