The supernatant from centrifugation at 1,000 x g of strained rumen fluid was lyophilized, and the residue and sublimate fractions were used to replace fresh rumen fluid in a complete roll tube medium for enumeration of total rumen bacteria. Most of the growth-supporting nutrients in fresh rumen fluid were found in the residue fraction. With one exception, no significant differences were found i...

Six adult castrated male red deer (Cervus elaphus), fitted with rumen cannulas, were offered chaffed lucerne hay ad lib. during winter and summer, with voluntary food intake (VFI) being respectively 59 and 89 g dry matter intake (DMI)/kg bodyweight 0.75 per d. The same animals were also offered the same feed during summer, with intake restricted to that of winter VFI. The apparent digestibility...

BACKGROUND Evolutionary theory suggests that in polygynous mammalian species females in better body condition should produce more sons than daughters. Few controlled studies have however tested this hypothesis and controversy exists as to whether body condition score or maternal diet is in fact the determining factor of offspring sex. Here, we examined whether maternal diet, specifically increa...

This study investigated the effects of rumen-protected methionine (RPM) and rumen-protected choline (RPC) on energy balance, postpartum lactation performance, antioxidant capacity and immune response in transition dairy cows. Forty-eight multiparous transition cows were matched and divided into four groups: control, 15 g/d RPC, 15 g/d RPM or 15 g/d RPC + 15 g/d RPM. Diet samples were collected ...

All mechanistic rumen models cover the main drivers of variation in rumen function, which are feed intake, the differences between feedstuffs and feeds in their intrinsic rumen degradation characteristics, and fractional outflow rate of fluid and particulate matter. Dynamic modeling approaches are best suited to the prediction of more nuanced responses in rumen metabolism, and represent the dyn...

I . The deamination, ureolytic and proteolytic activities and rates of cellulolysis and gas production in large intestinal contents have been compared with those activities and rates in rumen contents of sheep. 2. Large intestinal contents produced ammonia. The rate of ammonia production was greater in caecal contents than in faeces. Incubation of caecal contents under toluene resulted in decre...