six red sokoto (rs) and west african dwarf (wad) does, raised intensively in livestock farm of michael okpara university were evaluated for milk yield and composition in a ten-week study. the animals in their first parity were fed cut-and-carry forages in a cafeteria arrangement between 07:00-08:00 h daily and also were allowed access to concentrate supplementation by 14:00 h. the forage consis...

Selenium-accumulator plants are reputed to be unpalatable to livestock. The objective of this study was to determine if sheep and cattle could discriminate between forages and feeds with different concentrations of Se. In the first study, cattle and sheep preferences for intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), and western aster (Symphyotrichum ascendens) of ...

Pastures located on southern Iowa cow/calf farms, from 8 to 125 ha in size, were used to evaluate the effects of microclimate, shade, botanical composition, and other pasture characteristics influencing the temporal/ spatial distribution of cattle within and outside streamside zones of pastures. Cows were Angus and Angus-cross on 4 of the farms, and Mexican Corriente on the remaining farm. Duri...

One of the most common problems faced by hay or silage producers is how to manage production schedules around unfavorable weather. Inevitably, some wilting forage crops are damaged by rainfall each year, and producers often inquire about the effects of rain damage, and what impact this may have on forage quality, silage fermentation, and animal performance. Actually, the problem is more complex...

An, L.V., 2004. Sweet potato leaves for growing pigs: Biomass yield, digestion and nutritive value. Doctor’s dissertation. ISSN 1401-6249, ISBN 91-576-6750-0 The aim of the present studies was to evaluate the potential of using sweet potato leaves (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) as a protein source in diets for growing pigs. A number of sweet potato varieties were evaluated with respect to the bioma...

This study aimed to investigate cyclopropane fatty acids (CPFAs) as quality biomarkers of forage feedings in cheese fat obtained from ewe’s milk, based on two different dietary treatments (hay and silage). The gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis detected CPFAs most samples, both hay silage-based diets. CPFA levels feeding were positively correlated the total trans-monounsatura...

Paper mulberry (PM) and (MU) have been considered potential substitutes for traditional forages in response to the increasing demand high-protein feed livestock. To improve utility of these two typical woody forages, our study investigated effects sucrose lactic acid bacteria (LAB) additives on fermentation quality, nutritive value, protein fractions their leaf silages. Collected leaves were se...

Degradation of dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) in fresh or frozen-thawed alfalfa and ryegrass was studied by using in situ technique. The forages were labeled with N during growth in a glasshouse, harvested at similar growth phase, and fresh (F) or frozen-thawed (FT) samples were incubated in the rumen of 3 sheep. There was no difference (P>0.05) between forage type (S) for the immediately sol...