Bamboo as a year-round forage source

Citation

Bissell H, Rude B, Sims J, Sikes R, Parsons J, Kouba A, Ouellette J. 2005. Bamboo as a year-round forage source. In Graffam W, Hellinga D, Maslanka M, Ward A, Eds. Proceedings of the Sixth Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, Omaha, NE.

Abstract

Bamboo is a rapidly renewable, nutritionally stable, and in most cases, evergreen forage. Although only rivercane (Arundinaria gigantica) is native to North America, bamboo enthusiasts have imported hundreds of varieties adapted to a wide range of climates and growing zones. We have conducted macronutrient analysis on eleven temperate species collected across all seasons and have analyzed for dry matter, ash, acid-insoluble ash (AIA), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), lignin, crude lipid (ether extract, EE), and acid detergent fiber crude protein (ADFCP) and gross energy (GE). We have detected no nutritionally significant seasonal changes in nutrient composition.

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