1. The present paper reports the effects on rumen fermentation and plasma metabolites and hormones of giving fixed rations of hay and high-cereal concentrates at different meal frequencies to lactating cows. In Expt 1 the total ration was given in two and twenty-four meals daily and in Expts 2-4 the concentrates were given in two and five or six meals and the hay in two meals daily. The diets c...

The objectives of this study were (i) to examine the effects on rumen and blood variables when grass silage (GS) was replaced with whole crop fodder beet silage (FBS) in the diet of beef cattle, and (ii) an abrupt change from GS to FBS. Six rumen-fistulated Friesian steers (initial bodyweight (BW) 416 kg, SD 43) were offered GS ad libitum for four weeks. The dry matter (DM) consumed daily by ea...

Comparison of Biochemical Characteristics of Lactobacilli Isolates from Food and Bovine Rumen Sources under Low pH and Bile Salt Stress Conditions Neethu M. Jose, Craig R. Bunt, Malik A. Hussain* The Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand The Department of Agriculture Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand [email protected]...

Two experiments were conducted with ruminally fistulated wether lambs to determine the effect of lactic acid addition to a hay diet on rumen lactate metabolism, blood acid-base status and subsequent adaptation to a high concentrate diet. In Exp. 1, lambs were fed mature brome hay (H), H plus 5% (w/w) D,L lactic acid (H5L) or H plus 10% lactic acid (H10L) (three lambs per treatment) for 14 days ...

Thiamine deficiency causes a decrease in transketolase activity and an increase in thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) effect on the erythrocytes. The objective of this experiment was to determine if ruminal acidosis alters erythrocytic transketolase enzyme activity as an indicator of thiamine level in feedlot cattle. A total of 65 feedlot cattle (1–2 years old) were fed either high concentrate diet (...

Dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) have been used in production animal diets; however, overuse of DDGS can cause toxic concentrations of ruminal hydrogen sulfide gas (HS), resulting in polioencephalomalacia, a deleterious brain disease. Because HS gas requires an acidic rumen environment and diet can influence ruminal pH, it has been postulated that dietary manipulation could help mit...

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of high-moisture corn (HMC), either whole or ground, fed separately from concentrate and straw on feeding behavior, rumen fermentation, whole tract digestibility, and nitrogen balance. Twenty-four Holstein heifers (199 ± 5.5 kg BW and 157 ± 6.9 d age) housed in individual pens were assigned to 3 treatments: 1) whole (unprocessed) HMC fed...

Nitrogen kinetics were studied in six sheep (45-55 kg live weight) consuming either a high-N grass silage or a low-N dried grass made from swards of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). The diets were fed hourly at a level of 600 g dry matter/d and supplied 19.5 and 11.0 g N/d respectively. The amounts of organic matter (OM) consumed and flowing at the duodenum and ileum and excreted in the fae...

Ingestion of high levels of rapidly fermented carbohydrates after parturition often leads to the production of excessive quantities of organic acids that may exceed the buffering capacity of the rumen and cause pH to drop. Ruminal acidosis results in animal discomfort, anorexia, depression, decreased digestibility, and decreased milk production. In the present study, we examined the effects of ...

Volatile fatty acids (VFA), produced in the rumen by microbial fermentation, are the main energy source for ruminants. The VFA profile, particularly the nonglucogenic (acetate, Ac; butyrate, Bu) to glucogenic (propionate, Pr) VFA ratio (NGR), is associated with effects on methane production, milk composition, and energy balance. The aim of this study was to evaluate extant rumen VFA stoichiomet...