The effect of mineral supplements on resorption in the digestive tract of cattle, with special reference to Bolus alba

Fourteen sexually mature heads of cattle were divided into two groups; Group I receiving mineral mixture A, containing 15 % of Bolus alba, while Group II were given mixture B, containing no Bolus alba, but 10 % more Ca. Otherwise, both groups received the same feeding. Samples of blood and faeces of the animals were taken monthly for the determination of phosphorus, respectively phosphorus and carotenes. The experiment lasted one stabling period. In Group I, the mean inorganic phosphorus values of the blood were 6.7 mg/100 ml. and in Group 11, 6.1 mg/100 ml. The mean phosphorus values of the faeces were 8.8 gr/kg dry matter in Group I and in Group II, 9.3 gr/kg dry matter. The mean carotene values in Group I were 98.3 mg/kg dry matter and in Group II, 96.3 mg/kg dry matter. However, none of these differencies is statistically significant. On the basis of the present investigation it can be concluded that Bolus alba exerts no detrimental influence on the resorption of phosphorus and carotenes in the digestive tract of cattle

Nutrition constraint to improved smallholder milk production in the Ethiopian highlands: The Selale experience

Metabolizable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) of the stall-fed resources met half of the requirements of crossbred cows in the Central Ethiopian highlands. The average supply of ME and CP from stall-feeding supported a milk yield of 850 kg or 55 percent of the lactation yield. The additional ME and CP required was provided by grazing and/or from body reserves. Feeding of ME and CP was always slightly above maintenance and it never met the requirement for milk production. In addition to the constraints in the basal feed production and the availability of supplementary feeds on-farm, large herd sizes penalize the nutrition of individual animals. Increased feed production and feed budgeting according to actual requirements is necessary to utilize the genetic potential for milk production of crossbred dairy cows. Hay making soon after the long rains is a simple, practical way to improve the feeding on-farm

Intestinal nitrogen degradation of hay and grass silage estimated by the mobile bag technique

Four ruminal and duodenally cannulated heifers about 550 kg were used to study the intestinal N degradation of hay and grass silage. The animals were fed at maintenance hay or grass silage, without or with barley (0.70 X DM intake) in a 2 X 2 factorial design in 4 X 4 Latin square with periods of 21 days. Intestinal degradation was measured by the mobile bag method, containing 800 mg of hay or freeze-dried grass silage or their rumen-incubated residues. 31.0-38.4 percent of original hay and grass silage dry matter (DM), and 9.6-13.7 percent of DM of their rumen-incubated residues disappeared from the bags during the intestinal exposure. Except for bound nitrogen in acid detergent fibre (ADF-N) the N disappearance values (53.4-83.1 percent) were high compared to respective DM values. The disappearance of DM, organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fibre N (NDF-N) and ADF-N, but not total N or amino acid N (AA-N) was different (P 0.05) between hay and grass silage. Except for NDF-N, the intestinal degradation of these variates was altered (P 0.05), usually reduced, by the pre-incubation in the rumen, but not by the barley supplementation of the diets. Microbial nitrogen attached to the rumen-incubated roughages disturbed the intestinal N degradation measurements. Markedly greater NDF-N disappearance compared to DM, however, indicated a high N decomposing capacity in the ruminant intestine. It was concluded that the mobile bag technique is a suitable tool in comparing the relative intestinal N degradability among similar type of feeds

Supplementation of native grass hay with cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) hay, wilted leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) forage, wilted tagasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) forage or a wheat middling for young Friesian X Zebu (Boran) crossbred steers

An experiment was conducted with Friesian X Zebu (Boran) crossbred growing steers to compare an agro-industrial by-product, wheat middling cowpea hay, and wilted forages of leucaena and tagasaste as cattle feed. These feeds were fed daily to supplement the basal diet of native hay. A mineral supplement containing bone meal and common salt was also fed daily. The animals were group-fed but towards the end of the experiment, were housed individually in feeding pens to estimate the feed intake and digestibilities of the diets. The animals consumed all the supplements except for tagasaste forage. The mean daily total dry matter intake during the individual feeding ranged from 4.9-5.5 kg. The descending order of diets in digestible crude protein intake was wheat, leucaena, vigna, tagasaste and native hay. In the daily weight gains the feeds were ranked in descending order of wheat, leucaena, vigna, native hay and tagasaste. The daily gain on wheat middlings was higher than on any other diet. Poor palatability may be a major problem in feeding tagasaste to growing cattle

Wilted tagasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) forage as a replacement for a concentrate supplement for lactating crossbred Friesian X Zebu (Boran) dairy cows fed low quality native hay

An experiment was conducted with four rumen-cannulated crossbred cows in a balanced 4x4 Latin square to study the effect of wilted tagasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) forage on rumen parameters and milk yield. The cows were fed a basal diet consisting of ad libitum native hay, mineral lick and water. Tagasaste forage was used to replace dry concentrate mix based on noug cake and wheat middlings that was used to supplement the basal diet. The rumen degradation of nitrogen tagasaste forage was intermediate between that of hay and wilted sesbania forage. Contents of tannic compounds were low in lower tagasaste than in sesbania forage. The cows refused to eat all the tagasaste forage at the higher levles of replacement resulting in lower total DM and crude protein intakes. Decline in nutrient intake resulted in decrease in milk yield and milk protein content. Replacing concentrate with tagasaste did not have a significant effect on the total tract digestion of dietary dry matter of organic matter but it decreased the crude protein digestion and increased cell wall digestion. It also had some effect on rumen fluid parameters. PH and acetic acid increased while propionic and butyric acids and ammonia decreased in the rumen fluid. Metabolizable energy supply was sufficient in all the diets to maintain the milk production level, but supply of crude protein was insufficient. It was concluded that tagasaste forage could not be used to replace concentrate as a supplementary feed for crossbred dairy cows without decreasing feed intake and milk yield. It was recommended that tagasaste should be evaluated in environment where practical alternatives for energy or protein supplements are scarce or non-existent