A. L. Goetsch

Forage and splanchnic tissue mass in growing lambs: Effects of dietary forage levels and source on splanchnic tissue mass in growing lambs

Forty-two crossbred lambs (33.4 kg initial body weight; twenty-four wethers and eighteen ewes) were used in a 42 d experiment with a 2 x 3 factorial treatment arrangement to determine effects of forage level and source on splanchnic tissue mass. Diets were 250 and 750 g/kg of chopped lucerne (Medicago sativa) (A), ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) (RW) or bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) (B) hay, with the remainder being maize-based concentrate. Five lambs per treatment were slaughtered at the end of the experiment and measurements made of internal organs and contents of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Digestible organic matter intake (DOMI) on the 7 d preceding slaughter was 0.89, 0.83, 0.90, 0.83, 0.77 and 0.61 (SE 0.05) kg/d, and live-weight gain was 0.20, 0.17, 0.18, 0.10, 0.10 and 0.07 (SE 0.02) kg/d for diets A-25, RW-25, B-25, A-75, RW-75 and B-75 respectively. Total GIT mass (fresh) was higher (P < 0.05) for 750 than 250 g forage/kg and for B than RW (4.80, 4.57, 5.55, 5.84, 5.99 and 6.91 kg for diets A-25, RW-25, B-25, A-75, RW-75 and B-75 respectively). Non-fat organic matter was 259, 295, 292, 303, 277 and 264 g for the total GIT; 93, 102, 103, 106, 95 and 97 g for the reticulo-rumen (forage level x type (diet A v. diets RW and B) interaction; P < 0.05); and 204, 196, 202, 177, 156 and 127 g for the liver (SE 10) with diets A-25, RW-25, B-25, A-75, RW-75 and B-75 respectively. In summary, differences in properties of forage A and the grasses at 250 g/kg diet may have influenced GIT mass independent of energy intake and digesta mass. Conversely, with 750 g dietary forage/kg, higher digesta mass for diet B than diet RW appeared responsible for high reticulo-rumen mass relative to DOMI. Greater digesta mass for 750 than 250 g forage/kg may have elevated intestinal tissue mass/DOMI with diets A and B but not with diet RW, for which NDF digestibility was highest.

Intake and digestion by Holstein steer calves consuming grass hay supplemented with broiler litter

Abstract Effects of substituting broiler litter for supplemental corn on feed intake and digestion by Holstein steer calves consuming low-quality grass hay were determined. In Experiment 1, eight steer calves (176 ± 3.4 kg average trial body weight (BW)) in two simultaneous 4 × 4 Latin squares consumed vegetative bermudagrass (BER) or mature bromegrass (BRO) hay ad libitum without an energy supplement (control) or with (dry matter basis) 0.75% BW of ground corn (C), 0.56% BW of corn plus 0.26% BW of deep-stacked broiler litter (LL), or 0.38% BW of corn plus 0.52% BW of litter (HL). Litter was 24% ash, 5.0% nitrogen, 40% neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and 6.3% acid detergent lignin (ADL). Total organic matter (OM) intake was 4.32, 5.10, 5.16, 5.12, 4.89, 5.66, 5.90 and 5.58 kg day −1 (SE 0.084), and digestible OM intake was 2.57, 3.35, 3.21, 3.01, 2.72, 3.39, 3.42 and 3.06 kg day −1 (SE 0.055) for BER, BER-C, BER-LL, BER-HL, BRO, BRO-C, BRO-LL and BRO-HL, respectively. In Experiment 2, six Holstein steer calves (189 ± 15.6 kg average trial BW) in a 6 × 6 Latin square consumed BRO ad libitum without an energy supplement (control) or with 0.75% BW of corn (C), 0.75% BW of corn plus 0.13% BW of peanut skins (CS), 0.5% BW of corn plus 0.35% BW of broiler litter (CL), or 0.5% BW of corn plus 0.13% BW of peanut skins mixed with 0.35% BW of litter at feeding (CLS-F) or before deep-stacking (CLS-ST). Litter contained 22% ash, 4.0% N, 49% NDF and 5.5% acid detergent lignin. Total tract NDF digestibility was similar among treatments. Total and digestible OM intake (2.28, 3.01, 2.93, 3.21, 3.14 and 3.04 kg day −1 for control, C, CL, CS, CLS-F and CLS-ST, respectively) were increased ( P

Net flux of nutrients across splanchnic tissues in sheep fed tropical vs. temperate grass hay of moderate or low qualities

Abstract Crossbred wethers (18 months old; 44 ± 0.7 kg body weight), with catheters in a hepatic vein, the portal vein and a mesenteric vein and artery, consumed ad libitum tropical or temperate grass hay each of three different qualities or stages of maturity. Splanchnic tissue energy consumption was similar among tropical grass diets but increased as quality of temperate grass declined. Portal-drained viscera oxygen consumption increased with increasing digestible energy intake and fecal neutral detergent fiber excretion. Energy available to extra-splanchnic tissues with highest quality grass was greater for temperate than for tropical grass because of lower splanchnic tissue energy consumption relative to digestible energy intake. Grass source, quality and nitrogen concentration did not significantly affect portal-drained viscera release of α-amino nitrogen. Hepatic uptake of α-amino nitrogen was greater for tropical than for temperate grass, presumably because of higher nitrogen concentration with greater hepatic ammonia nitrogen uptake. Glucose uptake by the portal-drained viscera was greater for tropical than for temperate grass, and the potential contribution of propionate to hepatic glucose release tended to be greatest for grass highest in quality. Grass quality appears more important to achieve maximal energy availability to extra-splanchnic tissues with temperate than tropical grass.

Effects of corn vs. corn plus wheat in forage-based diets containing broiler litter on feed intake, ruminal digesta characteristics and digestion in cattle

Cattle consuming low-to moderate-quality forage were supplemented with corn or a 1:1 corn:wheat mixture with or without broiler litter to determine effects on feed intake, ruminal digesta characteristics and digestion. In the first experiment, mature beef steers (529 ± 33 kg initial body weight) with cannulas in the rumen and duodenum were fed prairie hay and soybean meal alone (control) or with (dry matter basis) 0.3% body weight (BW) of ground corn (C), 0.15% BW of corn plus 0.15% BW of ground wheat (CW), corn plus 0.3% BW of broiler litter (C-L) or the corn-wheat mixture plus 0.3% BW of broiler litter (CW-L). Ruminal fluid ammonia nitrogen (N) concentration 2 h after feeding was increased (P < 0.05) by supplementation and was greater (P < 0.05) for C-L than for CW-L (8.9, 9.3, 11.4, 27.6 and 21.4 mg dl−1 for control, C, CW, C-L and CW-L, respectively). Neither duodenal microbial N flow nor efficiency of microbial growth was affected by treatment. In the second experiment, Holstein steers (129 ± 11 and 219 ± 17 kg initial and final BW, respectively) consumed ad libitum bermudagrass hay alone (control) or with (dry matter basis) 0.6% BW of corn (C), 0.3% BW of corn plus 0.3% BW of wheat (CW), corn plus 0.6% BW of broiler litter (C-L) or the corn-wheat mixture plus 0.6% BW of broiler litter (CW-L). Total organic matter (OM) intake was increased (P < 0.05) by supplementation and inclusion of broiler litter in supplements (4.34, 4.91, 5.14, 5.27 and 5.32 kg day−1); total tract OM digestion was increased (P < 0.05) by supplementation and was lower (P < 0.05) for supplement treatments with than without broiler litter (57.2, 61.8, 63.0, 59.5 and 59.9%); and digestible OM intake was increased (P < 0.05) by supplementation and was not altered by broiler litter inclusion in supplements (2.51, 3.05, 3.25, 3.14 and 3.20 kg day−1 for control, C, CW, C-L and CW-L, respectively). In summary, supplementation of a diet containing broiler litter with a corn-wheat mixture compared with corn alone decreased ruminal ammonia N concentration early after feeding but did not change duodenal microbial N flow or efficiency of microbial growth. Grain source did not alter total feed intake by growing Holstein steers consuming diets with broiler litter, and an increase in total feed intake when broiler litter was included in diets compensated for low digestibility of broiler litter.

Effects of Xylose and Soybean Meal Additions to Deep-Stacked Broiler Litter on Nutritive Characteristics for Ruminants

Abstract Park, K.K., Goetsch, A.L., Patil, A.R., Kouakou, B., Forster, L. A., Jr., Galloway, D.L., Sr. and Johnson, Z.B. 1995. Effects of xylose and soybean meal additions to deep-stacked broiler litter on nutritive characteristics for ruminants. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 7: 1–26. Broiler litter was mixed with xylose (X;l. 7% dry matter) and (or) soybean (S; 20% dry matter) and deep-stacked at 21, 26 or 31% moisture for 7, 21 or 63 d, with a 2x2x3x3 factorial arrangement of treatments, to determine changes in composition and ruminal degradability of organic matter and nitrogen (N). Nitrogen concentration was increased (P<0.05) by S (5.04 vs 4.18%) and decreased (P<0.05) by X (4.57 vs 4.65%). Xylose decreased (P<0.05) NH3-N concentration without but not with S (43.6, 37.5, 28.3 and 28.3% total N for Control, X, S and XS, respectively). At 7 d of incubation, soluble N (0.15 M NaCl) was not affected by X without S, although with S, X decreased (P<0.05) soluble N (68.5, 66.4, 60.2 and 53.8% total N for Control, X ...

Digestion characteristics, feed intake and live weight gain by cattle consuming forage supplemented with defatted rice bran or other feedstuffs

Effects of supplementing cattle with defatted rice bran compared with full-fat rice bran, ground corn or wheat middlings on feed intake, digestibility and live weight gain (LWG) were determined. In Experiment 1, in situ (ruminal) dry matter disappearance in two steers consuming forage was 75, 45, 77 and 53% at 12 h (standard error (SE) 4.4), and 86, 95, 83 and 82% at 48 h (SE 0.6) for full-fat rice bran, corn, wheat middlings and defatted rice bran, respectively. In Experiment 2, six Holstein steer calves (193 ± 1.3 kg average trial body weight (BW); 6 × 6 Latin square) consumed a 1:1:1 mixture of alfalfa, orchardgrass and bermudagrass hay ad libitum without supplementation (Control), or with 0.80% of BW of full-fat rice bran (FR), 0.62% of BW of corn (C), 0.81% of BW of wheat middlings (W), 0.80% of BW of defatted rice bran (L-DR) or 1.10% of BW of defatted rice bran (H-DR). Total organic matter intake was lower (P 0.10), and acetate: propionate in ruminal fluid was decreased (P < 0.05) by FR, L-DR and H-DR relative to Control (4.06, 3.69, 4.00, 4.09, 3.89 and 3.80 for Control, FR, C, W, L-DR, and H-DR, respectively; SE 0.053). In Experiment 4, crossbred beef calves (48 steers and 48 heifers; 232 ± 2.1 kg initial BW) grazed paddocks with fescue, clover and bermudagrass in the spring for 84 days and were supplemented as in Experiment 2. LWG was lower (P < 0.05) for W, L-DR and H-DR than for FR and C (1.06, 1.18, 1.14, 0.99, 1.04 and 0.98 kg per day for Control, FR, C, W, L-DR and H-DR, respectively; SE 0.027).

Influence of grass source on net flux of nutrients across splanchnic tissues in sheep with restricted intake

Crossbred wethers (22 months old; 46 +/- 1.3 kg body weight), with catheters in a hepatic vein, the portal vein and a mesenteric vein and artery, consumed warm (W; bermudagrass hay) or cool season grass hay (C; ryegrass-wheat) at 1.6% body weight (dry matter basis) in a crossover design experiment. Warm and cool season grasses were 13.6 and 9.9% crude protein, 77 and 66% neutral detergent fibre and 4.6 and 4.0% acid detergent lignin, respectively. Neutral detergent fibre digestibility (70.3 and 77.4%) and digestible energy intake (8.5 and 9.3 mJ/d) were greater (P < 0.02) for C than for W, and digestible nitrogen intake (11.5 and 8.0 g/d for W and C, respectively) was greater (P < 0.01) for W. Ruminal fluid concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and total volatile fatty acids were not altered by grass source, and acetate: propionate was greater (P < 0.02) for W (3.80) than for the C (3.54). Portal-drained viscera blood flow (118 and 119 l/h; SE 8.0), oxygen consumption (141 and 142 mM/h; SE 3.7), alpha-amino nitrogen release (13.4 and 13.1 mM/h; SE 3.42), urea nitrogen uptake (22.8 and 22.5 mM/h; SE 4.97), ammonia nitrogen release (14.9 and 15.7 mM/h; SE 3.36), glucose uptake (10.0 and 6.5 mM/h; SE 1.30), propionate release (14.5 and 16.4 mM/h; SE 1.88), lactate release (4.64 and 5.03 mM/h; SE 1.908) and acetate release (54.8 and 55.4 mM/h for W and C, respectively; SE 8.82) were similar between grasses. Energy consumption by the portal-drained viscera accounted for a slightly greater (P < 0.01) percentage of digestible energy intake with W vs C (18.8 vs 17.0%; SE 0.10). In conclusion, with restricted consumption of W or C by mature sheep, grass source had little impact on net flux of oxygen and nutrients across the portal-drained viscera and splanchnic bed.

Composition and in vitro digestibility of fibrous substrates placed in deep-stacked broiler litter

Effects of mixing urea (0 or 5.4% of broiler litter dry matter) with broiler litter (1.1 m high) on composition and digestibility of various fibrous substrates in dacron bags placed for 3 or 9 weeks at 36 or 72 cm from the surface of deep-stacks open or covered with plastic were determined with a 5 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Urea increased ammonia concentration in broiler litter, but markedly so only when the deep-stack was covered. Overall, urea decreased neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration in bermudagrass, wheat straw and rice straw, with small or nonsignificant changes noted for rice hulls and pine shavings. In vitro NDF digestibility at 48 h was increased (P < 0.05) by urea for bermudagrass (58.9% vs. 46.4%) and wheat straw (42.1% vs. 33.3%); greater (P < 0.05) at 9 than at 3 weeks (43.0% vs. 24.2%) for rice straw; and greater (P < 0.05) at 9 than at 3 weeks (10.4% vs. 6.9%) for pine shavings. In summary, covering broiler litter deep-stacked without added urea did not appreciably affect nutritive value of fibrous substrates. Urea increased 48-h in vitro NDF digestibility for bermudagrass and wheat straw regardless of other deep-stack conditions. In conclusion, these results suggest potential to improve nutritive value for ruminants of some fibrous substrates added to broiler litter with urea before deep-stacking.

Feed intake and digestion by Holstein steer calves consuming bermudagrass or ryegrass-wheat hay and supplemented with alfalfa, corn or monensin

Effects of supplementing with legume and/or grain or monensin on intake and digestion by Holstein steer calves fed warm or cool season grass hay (bermudagrass or ryegrass-wheat) were determined. In Experiment 1, eight steers (140 kg body weight (BW)), in two simultaneous 4 × 4 Latin squares, were fed bermudagrass (72% neutral detergent fiber, NDF) or ryegrass-wheat hay (59% NDF) ad libitum and no supplement (BG and RIV treatments) or approximately 0.5% BW of ground alfalfa hay (BG-A and RW-A treatments), 1.0% BW of ground corn (BG-C and RW-C treatments) or both once daily (BG-AC and RW-AC treatments). Supplement treatments affected organic matter (OM) intake differently with each forage (2.97 kg day−1, 3.35 kg day−1, 4.05 kg day−1, 4.07 kg day−1, 4.07 kg day−1, 4.28 kg day−1 and 4.54 kg day−1 for BG, BG-A, BG-C, BG-AC, RW, RW-A, RW-C and RW-AC, respectively; SE = 0.11). Total tract NDF digestibility was 63.2%, 62.3%, 61.1%, 59.7%, 68.9%, 67.3%, 60.9% and 54.2% (SE = 3.0) for BG, BG-A, BG-C, BG-AC, RW, RW-A, RW-C and RW-AC, respectively (greater with than without supplementation and for alfalfa and corn given together vs. alone; P < 0.05). Supplementation with alfalfa or corn alone increased digestible OM intake with bermudagrass but not with ryegrass-wheat; offering alfalfa and corn together increased digestible OM intake with both forages as compared with corn alone (1.72 kg day−1, 2.01 kg day−1, 2.57 kg day−1, 2.74 kg day−1, 2.71 kg day−1, 2.71 kg day−1, 2.77 kg day−1 and 3.02 kg day−1 for BG, BG-A, BG-C, BG-AC, RW, RW-A, RW-C and RW-AC, respectively; SE = 0.13). In another experiment (4 × 4 Latin square), four steers (228 kg BW) were fed bermudagrass (75% NDF) or orchardgrass (64% NDF) hay ad libitum with 0.5% BW of ground corn and 0 or 200 mg of monensin. Neither intake nor digestibility were significantly affected by monensin, but monensin tended to depress both measures with bermudagrass. Characteristics of forages such as those unique to cool and warm season grasses can affect changes in feed intake and digestion with supplementation.

Deep-Stacked or Composted Broiler Litter in Growing Cattle Diets1, 2

A study was conducted to determine effects of feeding diets high in deep-stacked or composted broiler litter compared with diets differing in forage quality on feed intake, digestibility, and live weight gain in growing cattle. Holstein heifers (158 ± 7.4 kg initial BW) were fed .5% of their BW of bermudagrass hay, 1% of their BW of ground corn, and ad libitum quantities of bermudagrass hay (Control), alfalfa hay (ALF), or deep-stacked or composted broiler litter (D-L and C-L, respectively) in an 84-d experiment. Stacked and composted litters were 27 and 32% ash, 3.8 and 7.8% N, 58 and 36% NDF (DM basis), and 25 and 29% ADF N (total N basis), respectively. Total DM intake was similar among treatments (5.9, 6.3, 5.8, and 6.0 kg/d for Control, ALF, D-L, and C-L, respectively); OM digestibility ranked (P Control (67%) > D-L (52%) > C-L (44%); and digestible OM intake was 3.65, 4.59, 2.49, and 1.99 kg/d (SE = .378) for Control, ALF, D-L, and C-L, respectively. Live weight gain was greatest (P<.05) for ALF, greater (P<.05) for Control than for D-L and C-L, and tended (P<.10) to be greater for D-L than for C-L (.76, .86, .49, and .41 kg/d for Control, ALF, D-L, and C-L, respectively). Gaimfeed DM was less (P<.05) with than without litter (.133, .137, .083, and .069 for Control, ALF, D-L, and C-L, respectively). In conclusion, high dietary levels of stacked or composted litter for growing ruminants with high energy requirements may restrict performance primarily as a result of low digestibility of litter. When used as a major component of diets for growing cattle, the feeding value of composted litter appears lower than that of stacked litter. However, feeding value of broiler litter used in this experiment may have been low to moderate relative to litter consumed by cattle in previous experiments.