[Comparison of goats and sheep with respect to the ingestion, digestibility and nutritive value of various diets].

The voluntary food intake, organic matter, crude protein and crude fiber digestibility and nitrogen balance of 23 diets have been measured simultaneously using 5 to 7 wethers and 5 to 7 castrated billy-goats in digestibility trials. The goats ate more than the wethers (58 vs 46 g DM/kg W0.75). The digestibilities obtained for goats were highly correlated with those obtained for wethers, and the mean values were similar in both species: Organic matter: digestion coefficient (CUD)goats = 1.22 CUDwethers -14.5 r = 0.93 Crude protein: digestion coefficient (CUD)goats = 1.07 CUDwethers -4.8 r = 0.94 Crude fiber: digestion coefficient (CUD)goats = 0.56 CUDwethers +29.6 r = 0.78 The mean nitrogen balance for goats (226 mg/kg W0.75) was significantly higher than that of wethers (152 mg/kg W0.75). Based on the regression equations for each species, the calculated efficiency of proteins digestible in the intestine (PDI) was 55 p. 100, the endogenous urinary nitrogen 160 mg/kg W0.75 and the nitrogen maintenance requirement 1.8-1.9 g of PDI/kg W0.75.