A tannin-blocking agent does not modify the preference of sheep towards tannin-containing plants

• When given a choice of plants, sheep can ingest tannin-containing plants.
• Sheep preference is observed from the first hour of intake.
• Supplementation with a tannin blocking agent (PEG) does not modify preference.
• Tannins do not seem to regulate sheep preference or intake, as fiber content does.

Sheep have been suggested to use their senses to perceive plant properties and associate their intake with consequences after ingestion. However, sheep with browsing experience do not seem to select against tannin-rich browsing materials in cafeteria trials. Thus, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between the chemical composition, selectivity index (SI), preference and intake rate (IR) of tannin-containing forage trees offered to sheep in cafeteria experiments. Four trees were selected for their condensed tannin content and their varying biological activities. Havardia albicans (high biological activity), Leucaena leucocephala (medium biological activity), Acacia gaumeri (low biological activity) and Brosimum alicastrum (very low biological activity) were used in this study. Ten hair sheep (23.7 kg ± 1.43 LW) with eight months of browsing experience in native vegetation were used in this study. Polyethylene glycol (PEG 3600 MW) was administered to five sheep during all experiments. In experiment 1, fresh foliage from all trees was offered ad libitum for 4 h. In experiment 2, B. alicastrum was withdrawn and the preference was determined again. The forage preference in experiment 1 was A. gaumeri (14.77 g DM/kg LW) > B. alicastrum (11.77 g DM/kg LW) > H. albicans (3.71 g DM/kg LW) = L. leucocephala (1.87 g DM/kg LW) (P < 0.05). The preference in experiment 2 was A. gaumeri > H. albicans = L. leucocephala. PEG administration had no effect on the preference or IR. The intake rate seemed to have been affected by the plant density. Moreover, fiber compounds were found to be better predictors of DM intake than polyphenolic compounds at levels typically found in the evaluated forages. It was concluded that tannins and PEG did not modify the preferences of sheep in cafeteria trials. Thus, tannins are not involved in the preference regulation of animals with browsing experience.