The effect of a methane-suppressing compound, trichloroethyl adipate, on rumen fermentation and the growth of sheep

1977 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Clapperton

SUMMARY1. Three experiments have been carried out to study the effect of adding trichloroethyl adipate, a compound known to prevent the production of methane bothin vitroandin vivo, to the diet of sheep on fermentation in the rumen and on the growth of lambs. In Experiment 1 the additive was incorporated at various levels for 6 weeks, in Experiment 2 it was given at one of four levels for 12 weeks and in Experiment 3 it was included in the food of growing lambs for 15 weeks.2. Initially, in Experiments 1 and 2, the additive caused a large reduction in methane production and in the molar proportion of acetic acid in the rumen liquor with a corresponding increase in propionic acid. These effects were much reduced after the first 2 to 3 weeks of administration.3. The total food intake of the animals receiving the additive in Experiment 3 was 4% less than that of the control animals. This difference was negligible at the start of the experiment but increased throughout the feeding period.4. On average, the relative live-weight gain and the changes in the weights of carcass, viscera and empty body weight of the animals receiving the additive were also 4% less than those of the control animals.5. The observed differences in weight gain resulted from the differences in food intake and the additive had no beneficial effect upon lamb growth. This lack of effect on growth was due to rapid adaptation by the rumen fermentation to the presence of the additive.

2000 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Ayantunde ◽  
S. Fernández-Rivera ◽  
P. H. Y. Hiernaux ◽  
H. van Keulen ◽  
H. M. J. Udo ◽  
...  

AbstractSixty-four Azawak male calves were used to study the effect of nocturnal grazing (NG) and supplementation (S) in the dry season on forage and water intake, faecal output, eating time and weight changes of cattle in the Sahel. Treatments were factorial combinations of four levels of NG (0, 2, 4 and 6 h/day) and two levels of S (0 and 608 g dry matter (DM) per animal per day). All animals were allowed to graze 10 h during the day and were weighed every 2 weeks during the 70-day experimental period. Eight oesophageally fistulated steers were used in a cross-over design to sample the diet (forage) selected during the day and at night by supplemented and non-supplemented animals. Extrusa crude protein and in vitro organic matter digestibility were not influenced by supplementation (P > 0·05). Time spent eating during the day or at night were not affected by supplementation but total eating time increased by 39·4 (s.e. 2·1) min/h of NG. Forage intake increased with increase in NG, while total food intake (forage + supplement) increased with supplementation (82·4 v. 92·1 (s.e. 2·4) g DM per kg M0·75 per day). The supplemented animals also drank more water than the non-supplemented (26·2 v. 24·8 l per animal per day). Average live-weight change (LWC) increased by 24·4 (s.e. 8·7) and 9·3 (s.e. 6·2) g/h of NG in non-supplemented and supplemented animals, respectively. Supplementation improved LWC (–107 v. 99 g/day, s.e. 14, P < 0·05). Night grazing improves dry season performance and its effect decreases when cattle are supplemented.


1985 ◽  
Vol 249 (5) ◽  
pp. R584-R594 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Freedman ◽  
T. W. Castonguay ◽  
J. S. Stern

Male obese and lean Zucker rats were adrenalectomized (ADX) or sham-operated at 10 wk of age. Approximately 16 wk later, patterns of food intake were monitored by computer-interfaced top loading balances. Data were collected from ADX rats before, during, and after access to a corticosterone-supplemented saline solution (20 micrograms/ml). Although total food intake during the precorticosterone treatment period was not different between ADX and sham controls, ADX resulted in attenuation of light cycle food intake, primarily via decreased meal frequency. With steroid replacement, light cycle meal frequency and food intake increased. Despite comparable self-administered dose (20.33 +/- 0.89 vs. 17.05 +/- 1.2 mg corticosterone/period, obese vs. lean), obese ADX rats were more responsive to steroid than were lean ADX rats. This increased responsiveness was reflected by a 30% increase in food intake and 60% increase in body weight gain of obese ADX rats during replacement. Lean ADX rats exhibited no change in total food intake or weight gain with replacement. Further, during corticosterone treatment, obese ADX rats increased meal frequency, total food intake, and consumption of large meals (greater than or equal to 4 g) during the dark cycle. Significant postprandial correlations were found only in obese ADX rats, both with and without replacement during the dark cycle. These results suggest adrenal glucocorticoids have a minimal effect on food intake and meal patterns in lean Zucker rats but significantly alter intake and meal patterns in obese rats.


1990 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Kyriazakis ◽  
G. C. Emmans ◽  
C. T. Whittemore

ABSTRACTTo test the proposition that growing pigs, when given a choice between two foods, are able to select a diet that meets their requirements, and to investigate the rules of diet selection, four foods (L, A, B and H) with similar energy yields, but different concentrations of crude protein (CP) (125, 174, 213 and 267 g CP per kg fresh food respectively) were formulated. The four foods were offeredad libitumeither singly, or as a two-way choice using all the six possible pairs, to 40 individually caged pigs from 12 to 30 kg live weight. On the single foods the rate of food intake fell from 1001 to 971 to 961 to 868 (s.e.d. 40) g/day (F < 0·05) as the protein concentration of the foods increased from L to H; the growth rate followed an opposite trend (492, 627, 743 and 693 (s.e.d. 31) g/day respectively;P< 0·01). When the pigs had to select between two foods limiting in protein (L and A) the less limiting one was preferred (710 (s.e. 200) g A per kg total food intake; the protein concentration of the selected diet was 160 (s.e. 10) g CP per kg). On the choice between B and H (a choice between a food with protein concentration close to requirements and a food with protein excess) the lower food was markedly preferred (928 (s.e. 4) g B per kg total food intake; the protein concentration of the selected diet was 218 (s.e. 1) g CP per kg). When the animals were given a choice between two foods, a combination of which was non-limiting (pairs LB, LH, AB and AH), the protein concentrations of the selected diets were not different between treatments (208, 204, 202 and 205 (s.e.d. 13) g CP per kg respectively) and they also declined systematically with time and weight. The growth rate of the animals on these pairs were 752, 768, 769 and 763 (s.e.d. 54) g/day (P > 0·05), which were not significantly different from the highest growth rate achieved on a single food. The results suggest that pigs, when given a choice between a suitable pair of foods, are able to choose a balanced diet and to change its composition to reflect their changing requirements. The choice-feeding method may well be useful as an effective and economic way of estimating and meeting requirements, and of measuring the growth potential of pigs.


1997 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 541-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Hanlon ◽  
S. M. Rhind ◽  
H. W. Reid ◽  
C. Burrells ◽  
A. B. Lawrence

AbstractAt weaning at 3 months of age (week 1), 30 red deer hind calves were housed in six groups of five animals at a stocking density of 1·5 m2 per head and maintained in these groups for 4 weeks. At the start of week 5, all calves were immunized with ovalbumin (OVA). Fifteen calves, from three groups, selected at random, were transferred to individual pens which restricted visual and tactile contact with others (ISO) while the remaining animals were kept in their groups (GP). The behaviour, food intake, live-weight gain, antibody and lymphocyte responses in vitro to OVA and lymphocyte responses in vitro to the non-specific mitogen, concanavalin A (ConA), of all calves were assessed in each of weeks 5 to 9. Isolated calves had a lower mean live-weight gain than GP calves (P < 0·001), although there were no differences in food intake. Significantly more time was spent lying (P < 0·001) but less time feeding (P < 0·05) and self-grooming (P < 0·001) by ISO than by GP calves. There was no significant difference between ISO and GP calves in the cortisol response to an ACTH challenge test (10 i.u.) at week 11. Lymphocyte responses and antibody titres to OVA were lower in GP than in ISO calves at weeks 7 (P < 0·05) and 8 (P < 0·05), respectively. In contrast, GP calves had greater lymphocyte responses to the non-specific mitogen, ConA, in weeks 7 (P < 0·05) and 10 (P < 0·001) but not in week 9 compared with ISO calves. Differences in lymphocyte stimulation were attributed to the non-specific mitogenic nature of ConA. Factors such as agonistic interactions evident in group housing may have compromised the antibody and lymphocyte responses to OVA by GP calves but conversely the lack of social contact may have also suppressed behavioural activity in ISO calves.


1974 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Tetlow ◽  
R. J. Wilkins

SUMMARYCobs and pellets which differed in particle size (modulus of fineness, MF) were prepared from dried perennial ryegrass and tall fescue and given to sheep. The MF values of the feeds were 2·45,1·09,0·81 and 0·74 for perennial ryegrass and 2·28,0·84,0·67 and 0·57 for tall fescue. Organic matter digestibility was similar for the two grass species when measured in vivo, but when measured in vitro values for perennial ryegrass were about 3 units higher than those for tall fescue. Voluntary intake and live-weight gain were higher for sheep given tall fescue, the difference in live-weight gain being just significant at P < 0·05. The response to change in particle size was similar for the two grass species. Intake was lowest and digestibility highest for the feeds with the highest MF, but differences between the three finely-ground forms of each species were not significant. There was a tendency for the intake of digestible organic matter to be lower for the feeds with lowest MF than for those with intermediate values for MF. The rate of passage of undigested particles was slower for cobs with the highest MF than for the other feeds, which did not differ significantly one from another.


1971 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 593-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Hodgson

SUMMARYReconstituted milk substitute was given at two concentrations of powder (10% and 20%), each at four levels (10% powder—8, 12, 16 and 20% of live weight (LW); 20% powder—6, 8, 10 and 12% of LW) to 3 British Friesian male calves per treatment from 2 to 4 weeks after arrival, and the calves were weaned over the next 7 days. Chopped dried grass was offered to appetite before and for 3 weeks after weaning. The amount of solid food eaten was not affected by the dry-matter concentration of the milk substitute, but was significantly depressed as the amount of milk consumed increased. Between-treatment differences in solid food intake established at weaning persisted until the end of the experiment. There was a dose, positive relationship between milk intake and live-weight gain (LWG) before weaning, but weight gain after weaning was not significantly affected by the level of milk intake before weaning.


1992 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Mutsvangwa ◽  
I. E. Edwards ◽  
J. H. Topps ◽  
G. F. M. Paterson

AbstractThe effects of a barley beef diet without (control) and with a yeast culture (YC) on rumen fermentation, in vivo diet digestibility, nitrogen retention, live-weight gain and food intake were evaluated using 13 Limousin × British Friesian bulls per treatment. The YC was composed of the yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its growth medium dried in such a manner that it maintained its fermentative capacity. The addition of YC significantly increased the concentration of acetate (P < 0·05) while propionate concentration tended to be higher for bulls given YC (P > 0·05). The acetate: propionate ratio remained unchanged. Concentration of total volatile fatty acid (VFA) was significantly higher in YC bulls compared with control bulls (P < 0·05). The in vitro studies using the Menke gas test confirmed these findings. Mean in vitro gas production in bulls receiving YC was lower than that in the controls (P < 0·05) and methane production was significantly reduced by the addition of YC after 12h (P < 0·01). Ruminal ammonia concentrations were not affected by treatment but ruminal pH was significantly depressed by the addition of YC (P < 0·05).Apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein and neutral-detergent fibre were unaffected by treatment but tended to be higher with the control diet. Nitrogen retention was not affected by the addition of YC and mean values for allantoin excretion and plasma urea were similar.In a 28-week feeding trial, dry-matter intake was significantly greater for bulls given YC (5·55 kg/day) than for control bulls (5·32 kg/day, P < 0·05) but average daily gain, 1·55 and 1·58 kg/day for control and YC respectively, and food conversion efficiency were not improved significantly by YC (P > 0·05).


2001 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. T. Whittemore ◽  
D. M. Green ◽  
P. W. Knap

AbstractFood intake in pigs is highly variable across different production circumstances. This report concludes from a critical review of published observations that it was unrealistic to expect from the scientific literature purporting to express nutrient requirement any reasonable prediction of the particular food intake of groups of pigs. None the less, such knowledge is essential for the practical purposes of their day-to-day nutrition. The literature does however yield general principles from which may be derived: (a) the likely forms (but not the parameter values) of intake functions relating food intake to pig live weight; and (b) the likely factors involved in the modulation of food intake at any given live weight. Using these principles two methods for determining on-farm food intake from the use of simple and available records were proposed. The first requires knowledge only of start and final weight, the time elapsed, and total food intake: it involves two steps, the determination of a suitable growth curve followed by the fitting of a suitable food intake curve. The second method is appropriate in the absence of information on total food intake, and requires a minimum number of spot measurements through the growth period. Different functions were tested for the curve of best fit. As a further benefit it appeared that models could be constructed from the information presented that would speculate for diagnostic purposes upon the likely modulators of food intake. Such models could explore the constraints of gut capacity, the energetic requirements of maintenance and potential growth, the influence of excessive or inadequate environmental temperature, the quality of housing and stocking density.


1989 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Yang ◽  
P. R. Eastham ◽  
P. Phillips ◽  
C. T. Whittemore

ABSTRACTOne hundred and two Large White × Landrace Fl hybrid sows were allocated over four parities in a factorial design to two levels of target P2 backfat thickness at parturition (20 mm, F v. 12 mm, T), two levels of lactation feeding {ad libitum, H v. 3 kg/day, L), and two sizes of sucking litter (six v. 10). Sows attained 13 mm P2 when first mated at 126 kg live weight. Fatness (P2, mm) at weaning was significantly influenced by target fatness at parturition (14·2 v. 9·3), lactation feeding level (13·7 v. 10·0), and litter size (12·7 v. 11·0). Changes in backfat (P2, mm) during 28-day lactation were significantly influenced by target fatness at parturition (—5·0 v. —2·5), lactation feeding (-2 0 v. —5·4), and litter size (—2·9 v. -4·6). Sow live weight (kg) at weaning was significantly influenced by target fatness at parturition (211 v. 192), lactation feeding (218 v. 186), and litter size (208 v. 196). Changes in live weight (kg) during 28-day lactation were significantly influenced by target fatness at parturition (—26 v. — 12), lactation feeding (—5 v. —31), and litter size (—12 v. —25). With multiparous sows only, total food intake during 28-day lactation was negatively related to total food intake in pregnancy. Change in backfat (P2, mm) during 28-day lactation = -0·28 - 0·27 P2 at parturition + 0·04 lactation food intake — 0·50 litter size. Change in live weight (kg) during 28-day lactation = -3·8 — 0·15 live weight post partum + 0·36 lactation food intake — 3·3 litter size. Sows with target fat levels of 20 mm P2 at parturition had better food conversion efficiencies than sows with target fat levels of 12 mm. Target fatness at parturition, and especially lactation food intake, but not litter size, significantly influenced the interval (days) from weaning to oestrus in parity 1 (9·1 v. 14·2 and 7·8 v. 15·3, but 11·6 v. 11·5), while n i subsequent parities only litter size influenced the interval (days) from weaning to oestrus (6·0 v. 8·0). Birth weight (kg) of piglets was influenced only marginally by target fatness at parturition (1·4 v. 1·2) in parity 1, and not by the other factors, or in subsequent parities. Piglet growth rate was affected by both target fatness at parturition and litter size, but by lactation feeding level only in the last week of lactation. The relationship between fatness at weaning (mm) and the weaning to oestrus interval (days) for primiparous sows can be expressed as 26·6 — 1·28 P2. High level feeding in lactation imparted production and efficiency benefit in both primiparous and multiparous sows, while pregnancy feeding to a target of 20 mm rather than 12 mm at parturition was of benefit for primiparous sows.


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