Small Ruminant Research 45 (2002) 301–306 Comparison of Sulla-hay and Sulla-silage in the lactating ewes and their effects on milk and cheese characteristics G. Leto a , M. Todaro a,∗ , A.M. Di Noto b , M.L. Alicata a a Dipartimento S.En.Fi.Mi.Zo.—Sezione of Animal Production, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy b Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, “A. Mirri”, Via Rocco Dicillo 4, 90129 Palermo, Italy Accepted 22 June 2002 Abstract Two methods of storage of Sulla- and oat-grass (silage or hay) were compared. Forty-six homogeneous lactating ewes, housed indoors, were divided into two groups and after 35 days of diet adjustment, were fed ad libitum twice a day, either Sulla- (Hedysarum coronarium L.) and oat-hay (control group) or Sulla- and oat-silage in partial substitution of hay (silage group). Both groups were fed with 0.5 kg of commercial concentrate. The dietary treatment started 60 days post-lambing and lasted for 58 days. Every day, the feeding intake for each group was recorded. Individual milk yield was measured weekly and at the same time, milk samples were collected and analysed by Milko-Scan 605. Every week, the milk yield of each group, collected for 48 h before and frozen at 5 ◦ C, for a total of eight replications, was analysed for fat, protein, casein, whey-protein, non-protein nitrogen, urea, lactose percentages, pH, and microbiological contamination. The cheese were made according to the traditional cheese making process of Sicilian Pecorino cheese. On the basis of Flieg (82) and Vanbelle (60) points, the silage turned out to be very good, with a good nutrient value (0.60 milk FU/kg). The dry matter (DM) intake did not differ between feeding groups (1585 versus 1639 g per day of DM, respectively). The silage level of substitution with regard to hay was equal to 27%. The silage group ewes did not show significant differences as regards daily milk yield (0.59 kg per day versus 0.60 kg per day), fat percentage (8.12% versus 8.03%), and protein percentage (5.53% versus 5.40%), but increased their body weight (+3.82 kg versus +2.08 kg, P ≤ 0.05). Cheese yield and microbiological analysis did not show significant differences among the mature cheese of both groups. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Dairy ewes; Forage; Lactation; Silage; Cheese 1. Introduction In Sicily, sheep feeding depends heavily upon pas- ture: it is characterised by low forage availability in the autumn and winter periods and absence of forage in summer. This management requires constant sup- ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +39-91-485181; fax: +39-91-485713. E-mail address: zootmax@unipa.it (M. Todaro). plementation in the critical periods, which is usually provided by hay made from grass forage, obtained at the onset of full flowering in order to avoid rainfall. Any delay in the cutting of herbage, particularly in the case of Sulla forage (Hedysarum coronarium L.), would yield a low quality hay because of the high lignification of the stalks (Stringi and Amato, 1998). However, a delay in the cutting of forage is unavoid- able in many cases. Notwithstanding, Sulla is very important grass forage in Sicily: the cultivation area is 0921-4488/02/$ – see front matter © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0921-4488(02)00158-X