Prediction of the amount of methane produced by ruminants

Abstract

Metabolizable energy is defined as the heat of combustion of a feed less the heat of combustion of the faeces, urine and gases which are produced when it is eaten. The losses of energy in faeces and urine can be determined easily in sheep and cattle kept in metabolism cages, but to determine the energy they lose as combustible gas, that is as methane, involves quantitative measurement of the gaseous exchange and the use of much more complex and expensive equipment. Understandably, several attempts have been made to predict the losses of energy as methane by cattle and sheep from knowledge of the amount and type of the food they ingest (Kriss, 1930;