It was theorized that the rate of breakdown of forages in the rumen of sheep and cattle is an individual trait of each forage that may affect its consumption. An artificial mastication and a sieving analysis were adapted to test this theory. The repeatability of the procedure was verified by a low error among particle size indexes from replicated analyses and obvious differences between hays. This also supported the theory that the rate of breakdown is a trait of the forage. Artificial mastication was carried out on samples from 14 hays that had been fed to sheep. The relationship between feed intakes and particle size indexes was expressed by a correlation of 0.94 (P<.01). This was taken to support the theory that rate of breakdown affected feed intake. The data from these experiments were used to illustrate how closely intake (Y) could be estimated from the particle size index (X). The regression of Y on X (Y=353X−14) was significant and estimated the daily dry matter consumption by a 100-lb. sheep to an accuracy of °127 gm.
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Troelsen et al. (1964) studied this question.