Management of metabolic hydrogen ([H]) in the rumen has been identified as an important consideration when reducing ruminant CH4 emissions. However, little is known about hydrogen flux and microbial rumen population responses to CH4 inhibition when animals are fed with slowly degradable diets. The effects of the anti-methanogenic compound, chloroform, on rumen fermentation, microbial ecology, a...

Insufficient glycogen content in bovine muscle at slaughter produces meat with high final pH (> 5.8) which is undesirable. The objective of this study was to determine through biopsies the live changes in muscle glycogen concentration (MGC) of housed steers fed on hay or hay plus energy concentrate for 30 d and then determine the effect of food deprivation (fasting) for 24 h on the same variabl...

Eighty-nine samples, 45 of standing forage and 44 of baled hay, were collected from alfalfa harvested at various maturities over three cuttings each during 2 yr. Alfalfa was cut and conditioned mechanically; samples of standing forage were collected by removing bunches of forage from windrows and freeze-drying them. Forage was allowed to field cure and was harvested at an average 80% DM as smal...

Eight ruminally cannulated Holstein bull calves were used in a switchback design to evaluate effects of hay on postprandial changes in ruminal pH, ammonia and VFA, blood ketones, and plasma glucose, NEFA, VFA, and urea N. Calves were fed 4.5 kd/d of calf starter with or without hay for ad libitum consumption. Blood and ruminal fluid were sampled every 2 h for 12 h on d 21 (periods 1 and 2) or d...

The risk of acquiring a new intramammary infection during the dry period increases with milk production at drying-off and decreases as mammary gland involution progresses. A method commonly used to reduce milk production is a drastic reduction in feed supply in the days that precede drying-off. Our recent work has shown that milk production can also be reduced by an inhibition of the lactogenic...