Efficiency of energy utilization in undernourished and realimented sheep

Experiments with seven wether sheep, which were undernourished and then realimented, led to the following results: 1.(1) With a ration low in crude fibre (5.7% of OM), digestibility of energy increased with increasing feeding level.2.(2) Maintenance requirements were lower during undernutrition (275 kJ/kg34, 24 h) than during realimentation (374 kJ/kg34, 24 h).3.(3) Partial efficiency of metabolisable energy was similar in undernourished (km= 0.73) and realimented (kf= 0.75) animals and higher than that calculated by ARC (1965) for continuously fed animals (kf= 0.59).