Renen och nötkreaturet : en jämförelse mellan två olika typer av idisslare

Sammanfattning: The aim of this literature review was to make a comparison between the feeding requirements of Swedish reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) and meat producing cattle (Bos taurus) within farming. Reindeer are an intermediate feeding type; they have the ability to adapt to short term seasonal changes in food. They avoid eating fibre as much as possible and display highly selective behaviour while foraging. Adaptation to harsh environments with a limited amount of food has made reindeer dependent upon easily digestible food and consequently their digestive systems are less capable of processing plants with high fibre content. Herding is an extensive system which requires a significant amount of land and labour and describes the reindeer industry. Cattle are true grass and roughage eaters; they are well adapted to utilising fibre-rich food and therefore a different production system is used for cattle. Farming is a far more intensive system than herding, constrains more capital investment and is the system we use in Sweden for our cattle. Differences at the digestive systems in these two animals suggest their use of the feeds varies. With a comparison between these two and their energy and nutrient demands you can see that reindeer require more high quality feed while cattle need a higher quantity of food.