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Daily and alternate day supplementation of urea or soybean meal to ruminants consuming low-quality cool-season forage: II. Effects on ruminal fermentation
Five ruminally cannulated steers (initial BW=464 ± 26 kg) consuming low-quality forage (5% CP; 78% NDF; DM basis) were used in an incomplete 5 x 4 Latin square with four 18-d periods to determine the influence of supplemental N source and supplementation frequency (SF) on ruminal fermentation dynamics. Treatments, arranged as a 2 x 2 factorial with a negative control, consisted of urea or soybean meal (SBM) supplements offered daily (D) or alternate days (2D) plus an unsupplemented treatment (CON). Urea supplements were provided to meet 100% of the degradable intake protein requirement while SBM supplements were provided on an isonitrogenous basis. All supplemented treatments received an equal quantity of supplemental N over a 2-d period. Ruminal indigestible acid detergent fiber (IADF) passage rate was increased with supplementation (P ≤ 0.03) on the days when D and 2D supplements were provided, as well as when only D supplements were provided. In contrast, ruminal liquid fill and dilution rate were not affected by supplementation, N source, or SF on the days when D and 2D supplements were provided (P ≥ 0.24). However, when only D supplements were offered, ruminal liquid dilution rate was greater (P=0.03) for SBM supplemented steers compared with cohorts receiving supplemental urea, whereas ruminal liquid fill was greater (P=0.03) for steers fed urea supplements. Nitrogen supplementation increased (P = 0.50). In summary, providing a urea-based supplement, as infrequently as every-other-day, was an effective alternative to a SBM-based supplement in maintaining acceptable ruminal fermentation of steers consuming low-quality, cool-season forage. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Keywords: Non-protein N, Forage, Urea, Soybean meal, Supplementation frequencyKeywords: Non-protein N, Forage, Urea, Soybean meal, Supplementation frequenc