The effect of salt and bentonite supplementation on feed and water intake, faecal characteristics and urine output in sheep

The effects of the addition of salt (sodium chloride) and sodium bentonite to hay-based pelleted rations on feed and water intake, digestibility, the output of urine and faeces, and faecal consistency were evaluated under conditions resembling those used for the shipment of live sheep. The addition of salt to the diet had no effect on dry matter intake but increased water intake relative to controls (P<0.01), with commensurate increases in urinary output of more than 1 litre/sheep/day. The diet with bentonite plus salt resulted in a higher dry matter intake than controls (P<0.01). The addition of bentonite increased the faecal dry matter percentage (P<0.05). The effects of the additives on faecal water evaporative loss and hardness were not significant. A large variation (52.1-62.6%) between sheep in dry matter digestibility of feeds was not affected by treatment and this requires further investigation. It is recommended that salt not be added to diets used for live sheep shipments.