The digestive responses and degradation of ergovaline and production of lysergic acid in the rumen of sheep offered Neotyphodium coenophialum-infected tall fescue straw at 2 ergovaline levels were investigated. Six crossbred wethers (56 +/- 3.0 kg of BW) were used in a randomized crossover design involving 2 treatments, for a total of 6 observations per treatment. The experiment consisted of tw...

This experiment investigated the effects of dietary supplementation of Origanum vulgare L. leaf material (OR) on rumen fermentation, production, and milk fatty acid composition in dairy cows. The experimental design was a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square with 8 rumen-cannulated Holstein cows and 20-d experimental periods. Treatments were control (no OR supplementation), 250 g/cow per day OR (LOR),...

Rumen epithelial Na(+)/H(+) exchanger (NHE) catalyzes the exchange of extracellular Na(+) for intracellular H(+). Thus, it is of importance in the maintenance of Na and pH homeostasis of rumen epithelial cells. We have tested the hypothesis that an increase in energy and protein intake induces alterations of NHE isoform 1, 2, and 3 (NHE1, NHE1, and NHE3, respectively) mRNA abundance in the rume...

Emerging evidence at the mRNA level indicates that feeding high-grain diets to ruminants leads to coordinated changes in the molecular response of the rumen epithelium. Yet, epithelial adaptation of the hindgut to increasing dietary grain levels has not been established in ruminants. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize alterations in mRNA expression associated with nutrie...

Rumen characteristics and digestive kinetics of brown midrib corn silage were evaluated with five late-lactation (221 DIM +/- 20 d) multiparous cows fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannula. Dietary treatments were applied by using a single reversal design with two 21-d periods where either brown midrib (BM3) or isogenic (ISO) corn silage were included in a total mixed ration formulated to be 4...

Hemp seed meal may be a suitable protein supplement for dairy cows, but its quality and safety as cow feed has not yet been fully investigated. As result, dry matter intake (DMI), rumen fermentation, blood metabolites, total-tract digestibility, concentrations of cannabinoids in plasma, urine, muscle, adipose tissues were compared among nonlactating Holstein cows receiving basal partial mixed r...

To evaluate a ruminal probe for recording diurnal variation in rumen pH, we fitted three ruminally fistulated cows with probes affixed to the inside of the cannula. Probes were connected to a data logger and readings were recorded hourly. The experiment was a Latin square design with cows fed three different diets: 50, 60, and 70% grain as a total mixed rations once daily. Feed offerings and re...

Feeding dairy cows diets high in easily degradable carbohydrates increases the incidence of rumen and systemic metabolic disorders; however, the triggering factor is not well understood. In this study, dairy cows were fed 4 different amounts of barley grain-based concentrate at 15, 30, 45, and 60% (dry matter basis) of a total mixed ration to determine whether alterations in the rumen environme...

Continuous recording of ruminal pH in cannulated cattle has been practiced to study rumen metabolism. However, most systems reported did not permit animal mobility during pH recording. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a continuous rumen pH data acquisition system that permitted animal mobility during data acquisition. A further objective was to compare the pH readings obtai...