Effect of Carbohydrate Source and Cottonseed Meal Level in the Concentrate on Feed Intake, Nutrient Digestibility, Rumen Fermentation and Microbial Protein Synthesis in Swamp Buffaloes

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of carbohydrate source and cottonseed meal level in the concentrate on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in swamp buffaloes. Four, 4-yr old rumen fistulated swamp buffaloes were randomly assigned to receive four dietary treatments according to a 2×2 factorial arrangement in a 4×4 Latin square design. Factor A was carbohydrate source; cassava chip (CC) and CC+rice bran at a ratio 3:1 (CR3:1), and factor B was level of cottonseed meal (CM); 109 g CP/kg (LCM) and 328 g CP/kg (HCM) in isonitrogenous diets (490 g CP/kg). Buffaloes received urea-treated rice straw ad libitum and supplemented with 5 g concentrate/kg BW. It was found that carbohydrate source did not affect feed intake, nutrient intake, digested nutrients, nutrient digestibility, ammonia nitrogen concentration, fungi and bacterial populations, or microbial protein synthesis (p>0.05). Ruminal pH at 6 h after feeding and the population of protozoa at 4 h after feeding were higher when buffalo were fed with CC than in the CR3:1 treatment (p0.05). Based on this experiment, concentrate with a low level of cottonseed meal could be fed with cassava chips as an energy source in swamp buffalo receiving rice straw

Gas Kinetics, Rumen Characteristics, and In Vitro Degradability of Varied Levels of Dried and Fresh Cassava Leaf Top Fermented with Cassava Pulp

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of different levels of dried cassava leaf top (DCT) and fresh cassava leaf top (FCT) fermented with cassava pulp (CS) on the nutritional value of silage, gas kinetics, rumen characteristics, and in vitro degradability. Dietary treatments were administered using a completely randomized design (CRD) with eight treatments and three replicate runs. The eight treatments were as follows: 1) CS fermented no additive (nA), 2) CS fermented with additives (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, urea, molasses, and sugar) (CSA), 3) 95% CSA fermented with 5% DCT (5DCT), 4) 90% CSA fermented with 10% DCT (10DCT), 5) 85% CSA fermented with 15% DCT (15DCT), 6) 95% CSA fermented with 5% FCT (5FCT), 7) 90% CSA fermented with 10% FCT (10FCT), 8) 85% CSA fermented with 15% FCT (15FCT), respectively. After 21 days of fermentation, samples of the silages were taken for chemical analysis and utilized to examine the in vitro gas production and degradability. The results show that fermented CS with DCT at 5% to 10% DM had the highest increase in CP when compared to nA or CSA (p<0.05). In vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD) was significantly higher in CS fermented with 5% to 10% DCT (p<0.01), whereas CS fermented with FCT levels demonstrated lower IVDMD than the control group (p<0.01). The gas potential extent of gas production (p) and gas production from the insoluble fraction (b) did not differ significantly across treatments (p>0.05). However, the gas production from the immediately soluble fraction (a) was maximum when CS was fermented with 15DCT (p<0.05). Different treatments significantly affected the pH of the fermentation solution with the addition of 10DCT and 15DCT for 12 and 24 hours of incubation, respectively (p<0.01). After 12 hours of incubation, the population of protozoa was lowest when 5DCT and 10DCT were evaluated (p<0.01). In conclusion, CS fermented with DCT at a concentration of 5% to 10% can increase crude protein content, in vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD), and gas production from the immediately soluble fraction while decreasing the protozoa population

Effect of Ground Corn Cob Replacement for Cassava Chip on Feed Intake, Rumen Fermentation and Urinary Derivatives in Swamp Buffaloes

Four Thai - rumen fistulated male swamp buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), about four years old with 400±20 kg liveweight, were randomly assigned according to a 4×4 Latin square design to receive dietary treatments. The treatments were: ground corn cob (GCC) replacement for cassava chip (CC) in concentrate at 0% (T1); GCC replacement at 33% (T2); GCC replacement at 67% (T3); and GCC replacement at 100% (T4), respectively. During the experiment, concentrate was offered at 0.5% BW while 5% urea-treated rice straw was given at ad libitum. The result revealed that there was no effect of GCC replacement on DMI among treatments. In addition, digestibilities of DM, OM and CP were not different while aNDF linearly increased with an increasing level of GCC replacement. However, GCC replacement did not affect rumen fermentation such as ruminal pH, NH3-N and VFA concentration; except C3 proportion which was the highest at 33% replacement while the lowest was at 100% replacement. All replacements of GCC resulted in similar protozoal and bacterial populations and microbial protein synthesis (MPS). Purine derivatives (PD) concentration in urine and PD to creatinine (PDC) index were varied with time of urination and among treatments at 0 to 8 and 8 to 16 h post feeding and higher values were shown among the GCC replacement groups. However at 16 to 24 h-post feeding, it was untraceable. In addition, creatinine concentration was similar among all treatments at every sampling time. Based on the above results, GCC can be used as an energy source for swamp buffalo fed with rice straw. Spot sampling of urine can be used for purine derivatives determination

Effect of Carbohydrate Sources and Levels of Cotton Seed Meal in Concentrate on Feed Intake, Nutrient Digestibility, Rumen Fermentation and Microbial Protein Synthesis in Young Dairy Bulls

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of levels of cottonseed meal with various carbohydrate sources in concentrate on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in dairy bulls. Four, 6 months old dairy bulls were randomly assigned to receive four dietary treatments according to a 2×2 factorial arrangement in a 4×4 Latin square design. Factor A was carbohydrate source; cassava chip (CC) and cassava chip+rice bran in the ratio of 3:1 (CR3:1), and factor B was cotton seed meal levels in the concentrate; 109 g CP/kg (LCM) and 328 g CP/kg (HCM) at similar overall CP levels (490 g CP/kg). Bulls received urea-lime treated rice straw ad libitum and were supplemented with 10 g of concentrate/kg BW. It was found that carbohydrate source and level of cotton seed meal did not have significant effects on ruminal pH, ammonia nitrogen concentration, microbial protein synthesis or feed intake. Animals which received CC showed significantly higher BUN concentration, ruminal propionic acid and butyric acid proportions, while dry matter, organic matter digestibility, populations of total viable bacteria and proteolytic bacteria were lower than those in the CR3:1 treatment. The concentration of total volatile fatty acids was higher in HCM than LCM treatments, while the concentration of butyric acid was higher in LCM than HCM treatments. The population of proteolytic bacteria with the LCM treatments was higher than the HCM treatments; however other bacteria groups were similar among the different levels of cotton seed meal. Bulls which received LCM had higher protein digestibility than those receiving HCM. Therefore, using high levels of cassava chip and cotton seed meal might positively impact on energy and nitrogen balance for the microbial population in the rumen of the young dairy bull

Enhancing Mulberry Leaf Meal with Urea by Pelleting to Improve Rumen Fermentation in Cattle

Four, ruminally fistulated crossbred (Brahman×native) beef cattle with initial body weight of 420±15 kg were randomly assigned according to a 4×4 Latin square design. The dietary treatments were mulberry leaf pellet (MUP) supplementation at 0, 200, 400 and 600 g/hd/d with rice straw fed to allow ad libitum intake. All steers were kept in individual pens and supplemented with concentrate at 5 g/kg of body weight daily. The experiment was 4 periods, and each lasted 21 d. During the first 14 d, all steers were fed their respective diets ad libitum and during the last 7 d, they were moved to metabolism crates for total urine and fecal collection. It was found that increasing MUP levels resulted in linearly increasing rice straw and total intakes (p<0.05). Ruminal temperature and pH were not significantly affected by MUP supplementation while NH3-N concentration was increased (p<0.05) and maintained at a high level (18.5 mg/dl) with supplementation of MUP at 600 g/hd/d. Similarly, viable total bacteria in the rumen and cellulolytic bacteria were enriched by MUP supplementation at 600 g/hd/d. However, the rumen microbial diversity determined with a PCR-DGGE technique showed similar methanogenic diversity between treatments and sampling times and were similar at a 69% genetic relationship as determined by a UPGMA method. Based on this study, it could be concluded that supplementation of MUP at 600 g/hd/d improved DM intake, ruminal NH3-N, and cellulolytic bacteria thus iimproving rumen ecology in beef cattle fed with rice straw