The effects of feeding pelleted diets made from either coarsely or finely ground hay on phosphorus balance and on the partition of phosphorus excretion between urine and faeces in the sheep.

Mature sheep fitted with rumen and duodenal cannulae were fed pelleted diets made from hay that had been either coarsely or finely ground. The diets were supplemented with phosphorus and the effects on salivary phosphorus secretion, net intestinal phosphorus absorption and the route of excretion were examined. Changing the particle size of the diet had no effect on overall phosphorus balance but did affect the route of excretion with urine levels being higher and faecal levels lower in periods when the more finely ground diet was fed. This increase in urine excretion was not due to differences in phosphorus intake nor could it be attributed to increased net phosphorus absorption from the intestine. Salivary phosphorus secretion was, however, lower when the more finely ground diet was fed and it would appear that this change in the balance between that absorbed relative to its secretion back into the gut was the major factor contributing to the increased phosphorus excretion in the urine. The significance of these findings in relation to the high levels of phosphorus normally found in the urine of sheep fed concentrate diets compared to those fed roughage diets is discussed.