L.A. Forster

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

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).

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.

Digestion and Performance Responses to Lasalocid and Concentrate Supplements by Beef Cattle Fed Bermudagrass Hay

Beef cattle consuming bermudagrass hay were not supplemented or received a limited amount of ground corn alone or with a mix of protein meals to determine influences of concentrate supplementation on digestion and performance when the ionophore lasalocid (200 mg daily) was given. With limited feed intake, supplement treatment did not change the acetate to propionate shift in beef cows occurring with lasalocid (P < 0.06). Lasalocid did not affect sites of digestion of organic matter or nitrogen with any supplement treatment. However, lasalocid decreased (P < 0.10) ruminal digestion of neutral and acid detergent fibre. Live-weight gain by growing beef calves ingesting bermudagrass hay ad libitum was higher (P < 0.05) with than without supplementation and tended (P < 0.12) to be greater for corn plus protein meals than for corn alone. Lasalocid did not affect or interact with supplement treatment in feed intake or live-weight gain of heifers (236 kg; no growth stimulant) or steers (237 kg; treated with 200 mg progesterone and 20 mg estradiol benzoate). Lasalocid at 200 mg daily did not improve digestion characteristics or influence performance by beef cattle consuming a Basal diet of bermudagrass hay. Further, effects of lasalocid were not modulated by supplementation with concentrate, concentrate type or sex or growth stimulant usage.

Effects of various supplements on voluntary intake and performance by growing cattle consuming forage moderate to high in crude protein.

Growing cattle were supplemented with substances to lessen or increase ruminal ammonia level to determine if consumption of moderate- to high-crude protein (CP) forage is limited by high ruminal ammonia absorption. In Experiment 1 (5 x 5 Latin square), five Holstein steers (198 kg) had ad libitum access to alfalfa cubes (17% CP) without supplementation or with corn at 0.25 or 0.75% body weight (BW) alone (LC or HC) or with 0.06% BW of zeolite (chabazite; LC-Z and HC-Z). Total daily organic water (OM) intake was not affected by treatment (6.08, 6.14, 6.11, 6.19 and 6.09 kg for control, LC, LC-Z, HC and HC-Z, respectively; SE 0.25). In Experiment 2, Simmental crossbred beef calves grazed fescue-clover paddocks in the spring (clipped forage: 21 to 27% CP) for 84 days and were supplemented with 0.25 or 0.75% BW corn alone or with added zeolite (0.06% BW) or lasalocid (0.5 mg/kg BW). Daily gain did not differ among treatments (1.24 to 1.31 kg/day). In Experiment 3 (6 x 6 Latin square), six Holstein steer calves (168 kg) had ad libitum access to medium-quality, orchardgrass-clover hay (15% CP). Steers received one of the following six treatments: no supplement (Control), 0.35% BW ground corn (C), corn plus 0.049% BW urea (C-U), 0.35% BW soybean meal (S), 0.205% BW feather meal (F) or 0.103% BW feather meal, 0.052% BW blood meal and 0.067% BW corn gluten meal (F-BG). Total daily OM intake was 5.00, 5.14, 5.00, 5.11, 4.84 and 4.70 kg for control, C, C-U, S, F and F-BG, respectively (SE 0.13). In Experiment 4 (6 x 6 Latin square), six Holstein steer calves (226 kg) were fed 0.75% BW of alfalfa cubes (19% CP) plus ad libitum access to medium- to high-quality orchardgrass hay (16% CP). Steers received one of the following six treatments: no supplement (Control), corn at 0.25% BW alone (c) or mixed with 0.12% BW peanut skins (C-PSK), a mix of high-CP feedstuffs high in ruminal escape protein (0.029% BW blood meal, 0.038% BW corn gluten meal and 0.028% BW feather meal; C-REP), 0.139% soybean meal (C-S) or soybean meal plus peanut skins (C-PSK-S). Total daily OM intake was 6.16, 6.25, 6.13, 6.52, 6.50 and 6.60 kg for control, C, C-PSK, C-REP, C-S and C-PSK-S, respectively (SE 0.10).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Digestion characteristics by beef cattle consuming bermudagrass or bromegrass hay alone or with alfalfa and(or) corn

Cannulated beef cattle (four cows: 556 kg initial weight; four steers: 504 kg initial weight) were used in an experiment with two simultaneous Latin squares to determine effects of substituting alfalfa and(or) corn for vegetative bermudagrass (BER; 77% neutral detergent fibre and 5.5% acid detergent lignin) or mature bromegrass (BRO; 70% neutral detergent fibre and 6.6% acid detergent lignin) hay on digestion characteristics. For Controls, BER or BRO was fed at 1.32 or 1.54% body weight of cows and steers, respectively; other treatments entailed substitution for hay DM of alfalfa cubes (17%) or ground corn (33%). A protein supplement was given to all animals. In vitro neutral detergent fibre (NDF) digestion was slightly greater for BER than BRO. Supplement treatments did not affect the concentration of total volatile fatty acids or the molar proportion of propionate in ruminal fluid. True ruminal organic matter (OM) digestion was similar among diets; greater duodenal microbial OM flow and postruminal NDF digestion for BRO than BER diets were responsible for higher (P < 0.05) postruminal OM digestion for BRO diets. Supplement treatment did not affect duodenal microbial nitrogen flow or efficiency of microbial growth. Corn supplementation increased total tract OM digestion (P < 0.05). Alfalfa addition depressed total tract OM and NDF digestibilities more when added to BER than BRO; depressions in total tract NDF digestion with alfalfa and corn substitutions were additive. With constant DM intake, slightly less than ad libitum, alfalfa or corn substituted alone or together for hay did not improve characteristics of digestion by cattle consuming vegetative bermudagrass or mature bromegrass other than increased postruminal and total tract OM digestibilities with corn.

Parasite Treatments for Crossbred Beef Steers Grazing High- or Low-Endophyte Tall Fescue

Summary Performance of ruminants consuming high-endophyte tall fescue ( Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is frequently lower than when low-endophyte fescue or similar cool-season perennial grasses are ingested. This study was conducted to determine effects of different parasite treatments on daily gain by beef steers grazing high- or low-endophyte fescue (HE and LE, respectively). Ninety-six yearling Angus-Hereford steers (210 kg average initial weight) grazed HE or LE paddocks for 112 days. Steers received 1) a placebo sustained-release ruminal bolus on Day 0 (control), 2) a sustained-release ruminal bolus on Day 0 designed to deliver ivermectin at 12 mg/day for 120 days (IVM), 3) levamisole injections (subcutaneous) at 8 mg/kg body weight every 14 days (LEV) OR 4) IVM plus LEV (combination: COM). Daily gains over the entire study were .49 and .79 kg for HE and LE, respectively ( P P >.10). Trends were noted for an effect of treating for parasites ( P P P P >.10). Parasite control may affect daily gain by beef steers slightly more with HE than LE.