The effect of different proportions of dried grass and concentrates in the diet on voluntary intake and performance of calves

1974 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. McCullough

SUMMARYComplete diets each containing (1) 0%, (2) 20%, (3) 40%, (4) 60% high-quality, (5) 20% and (6) 40% low-quality dried grass were given ad libitum to 48 British Friesian calves.The performance of the animals was studied over the stages of growth from 50 to 100 kg and 150 to 200 kg live weight. At each stage of growth the live-weight gain was similar on all treatments while the daily intake of dry matter was significantly affected by the treatments. Over the stage of growth from 50 to 100 kg live weight the intake of metabolizable energy was greatest on treatment 2 and lowest on treatment 4. The conversion ratio of metabolizable energy decreased with increasing levels and with both qualities of dried grass over the weight range 50 to 100 kg.When the calves reached 100 kg live weight, digestibility and N balance studies were carried out. The metabolizable energy (ME) expressed as a percentage of the gross energy decreased with increasing levels and with the lower quality of dried grass. Nitrogen retention was not significantly affected by treatment differences.The relationships of the voluntary intake of dry matter, ME intake and the conversion ratio of ME with the ME expressed as a percentage of gross energy over the lower live-weight range are also presented.

1970 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. McCullough

SUMMARYConcentrate diets supplemented with 5, 20 and 40% of a high- and a low-quality hay were given ad libitum to British Friesian steers from 9 weeks of age to slaughter. The intake of dry matter and metabolizable energy was studied over weight ranges from 91 to 363 kg live weight. The quality of hay did not significantly affect the drymatter intake at any of the weight ranges studied. From 91 to 182 kg live weight the daily dry-matter intake decreased as the proportion of hay in the diet increased. Over the weight range from 182 to 272 kg live weight, intake was maximum at the 20% level of hay supplementation, while from 272 to 363 kg live weight, intake increased with increasing levels of hay in the diet. The supplementation of high-quality hay significantly increased the intake of metabolizable energy by animals weighing 91–182 kg. Increasing proportions of hay in the diet significantly affected the metabolizable energy intake at all stages of growth studied.At 18 and 36 weeks of age digestibility and N balance studies were carried out. The metabolizable energy expressed as a percentage of the gross energy and the mean retention time of the diets were significantly affected by the age of animal, quality of the hay and the level of hay supplementation. Nitrogen retention was also affected by the age of the animal but not by the quality of the hay.The relationships between the voluntary intake of dry matter and the metabolizable energy of the diet expressed as a percentage of the gross energy, for different stages of growth, are also presented.The change in the digestibility and the mean time of retention of the diets in the digestive tract with age and the effect of this on the point where physical regulation to intake gives way to physiological regulation are discussed.


1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-445
Author(s):  
Paula M. A. A. Serra ◽  
O. E. R. Olivetra ◽  
T. H. Fernandes

ABSTRACTAn experiment was undertaken to examine the effect of using sorghum as a substitute for maize on digestibility and nitrogen retention in the growing pig. Two levels of sorghum, 200 and 400 g/kg, substituting for maize on a weight basis, were used. The chemical composition of control and test diets was similar. In the metabolism trial, digestibility coefficients for dry matter, crude fibre, nitrogen and gross energy were significantly lower for the animals given the higher level of sorghum. In the feeding trial, no significant differences were recorded between the three groups in relation to food conversion ratio, daily live-weight gain, killing-out proportion and carcass quality. It is concluded that yellow sorghum may replace up to 400 g of maize per kg in diets for growing pigs without having detrimental effects on animal performance.


1974 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ivan ◽  
L. R. Giles ◽  
A. R. Alimon ◽  
D. J. Farrell

SUMMARY1. A split-plot design was used to study apparent digestibility of dry matter, gross energy and nitrogen of a whole grain wheat diet and processed (hammermilled, rolled or hammermilled and then steam-pelleted) wheat diets by eight small (33·9 ± 0·1 kg) and eight large (70±1·7 kg) pigs. Metabolizable energy and nitrogen retention were also studied with the small pigs.2. The processed wheat diets were superior to the whole grain wheat diet in all the parameters measured.3. There were no significant differences between the performance of pigs given the differently processed wheat diets.4. Apparent digestibility of dietary components particularly in the whole wheat diet was significantly higher when diets were given to small pigs than when given to large pigs.


1970 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 591-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Jackson ◽  
T. J. Forbes

SUMMARYHerbage from the same timothy/meadow fescue/white clover sward was ensiled at four different dry matter contents. The resulting silages had dry matter contents of 19·0, 27·3, 32·3 and 43·2%, the dry matter content increasing with the length of the wilting period. An experiment was carried out to determine the voluntary intake of the silages. Each silage was given to 7 animals individually, the mean live weight of these being 334 kg.Although the silages made from wilted herbage were lower in digestibility than that made from unwilted herbage, wilting increased dry matter intake and metabolizable energy (ME) intake. The mean daily intakes of digestible organic matter were 53·0, 58·1, 59·6 and 59·6 g/kgW0·73, for silages of increasing dry matter content. The corresponding ME intakes, expressed as a multiple of the ME requirement for maintenance, were 1·17, 1·29, 1·30 and 1·28. The percentage of acetic acid in the silage dry matter was significantly (r= −0·56) and linearly related to voluntary intake. The relationship between lactic acid concentration and voluntary intake was significantly curvilinear (r= 0·48).


1979 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 443-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. L. P. Le Du ◽  
R. D. Baker

SummaryThe effect of the amount of milk consumed upon the herbage intake and performance of calves at pasture, following a standard rearing period, was investigated using 50 Hereford × Friesian calves purchased at 10–12 days ofage. All calves were offered 6 kg reconstituted milk substitute for a 58 day period indoors and for a subsequent 31 days at pasture. Ten calves were then allocated to each of five milk treatments (0, 2, 4, 6, 10 kg/day) and grazed for a further 63 days. The calves were offered a daily herbage allowance of 60 g dry matter/kg live weight.Daily weight gain was increased by 59 g for each additional kilogramme of reconstituted milk consumed, and herbage intake per unit live weight decreased by 1–24 g/g milk organic matter consumed, equivalent to a reduction in metabolizable energy intake of 9 kJ. Clear effects of both age and diet upon the consumption of herbage were demonstrated. An explanation of the mechanisms governing intake of herbage in milk–fed calves is offered.


1983 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Stewart ◽  
C. W. Holmes ◽  
W. C. Smith ◽  
W. A. G. Charleston

ABSTRACTThe effect of Oesophagostomum dentatum on the performance of growing pigs over the live-weight range 20 to 80 kg was investigated. Fourteen individually-penned pigs in Experiment 1 and 16 group-penned but individually fed pigs in Experiment 2 were orally dosed once with 80 000 or 20 000 larvae respectively at about 18 kg live weight. Worm-free but otherwise similar pigs served as controls. Three energy and nitrogen balance studies were undertaken in two open-circuit calorimeters on four infected gilts and their paired worm-free counterparts on two levels of feeding at 7, 21 and 49 days after infection. Worm burdens averaging 4 255 and 4 722 in Experiments 1 and 2 respectively were recorded post mortem but performance and carcass measurements were not affected, neither were there any clinical symptoms. No significant differences between infected and worm-free pigs were recorded for either apparent digestibility of nitrogen and gross energy or for nitrogen retention. Possible reasons for the lack of measurable effects on pig performance are discussed.


1976 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Hinks ◽  
I. E. Edwards ◽  
A. R. Henderson

SUMMARY1. Herbage was ensiled, fresh at 17% DM or wilted to 32% DM, with and without the addition of formic acid (19·2 kg/tonne DM). The silages were fed individually ad libitum to 36 fifteen-month-old British Friesian steers of about 280 kg initial live weight (nine animals per treatment).2. Wilting and the application of formic acid both inhibited fermentation, resulting in silages with higher levels of water-soluble carbohydrates, lower concentrations of volatile nitrogen and lower organic acid contents.3. There were no significant dry matter × formic acid interactions in dry-matter intake or daily live-weight gain.4. Treatment with formic acid did not enhance significantly either dry-matter intake or daily live-weight gain. Furthermore, it had little effect on digestibility, nitrogen retention or metabolizable energy (ME) concentration.5. Wilting before ensiling increased dry-matter intake from 5·0 to 8·3 kg/head per day with consequent marked increases in ME intake, nitrogen retention and live-weight gain. Wilting, however, had little effect on digestibility, ME concentration, or the efficiency with which dietary nitrogen intake was retained.


1971 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Crabtree ◽  
G. L. Williams

SUMMARYFour levels of a proprietary concentrate (0, 100, 200 and 400 g/day) were offered to Welsh Mountain ewe lambs receiving hay or straw ad libitum for 14 weeks. The apparent digestibility of the energy and nitrogen in the various diets was determined in a concurrent digestibility trial.The voluntary intakes of the straw and hay dry matter when given alone were 242 and 451 g/day respectively (28·4 and 49·2 g/kg W0·73 per day). Straw intake increased with an increase in concentrate feeding up to a level of 25% concentrate in the total dry matter and then declined. Hay intake declined linearly with increasing concentrate level (3 g/day decline per unit increase in the percentage of concentrate). In each case the total intake of dry matter and digestible energy increased with an increase in concentrate level.There was a positive within-treatment relationship between initial live weight and voluntary intake, an additional 0·019 Meal ME/day being consumed per kg increase in live weight. Within treatment groups lambs consuming relatively more food also made relatively higher weight gains. Estimates based on published standards of the metabolizable energy intakes required to produce the live weight changes observed on each treatment were considerably higher than the intakes recorded in the trial.


1992 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sanderson ◽  
C. Thomas ◽  
A. B. McAllan

AbstractSeventy-two, 4-month-old, British Friesian steers were used to investigate the effects of feeding a supplement of fish meal on the voluntary intake and live-weight gain by young growing cattle given a well preserved ryegrass silage. The silage was offered either alone or mixed with 50,100 or 150 g fish meal per kg silage dry matter (DM) and the diets were offered either ad libitum or intakes were restricted to 16, 19 or 22 g dietary DM per kg live weight (LW). Intakes were recorded daily, LW weekly and in vivo apparent digestibility over one 7-day period during the 132-day trial.For animals fed ad libitum, the absolute intake of dietary DM increased linearly with an increase in the level of fish-meal supplementation such that intake when the highest level of fish meal was given was significantly higher (P < 0·01) than when silage was given alone. However, DM intake per unit LW (approx. 24 g DM per kg LW) was not affected significantly (P > 0·05).Inclusion of fish meal in the diet did not affect the apparent digestibility of dietary DM, organic matter, acid-detergent or neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) although there was a trend for slightly higher (P > 0·05) gross energy apparent digestibility when fish meal was given. Increasing the level of feeding reduced NDF digestibility. The coefficients measured at the 22 g and ad libitum levels of intake were lower (P < 0·01 and P < 0·05 respectively) than that measured at the 16 g DM per kg LW level.Animals given silage alone to appetite achieved LW gains of 0·6 kg/day. LW gains increased linearly with increasing level of feeding (P < 0·001) and increasing level offish-meal supplementation (P < 0·001).


1982 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. O. Eggum ◽  
Grete Thorbek ◽  
R. M. Beames ◽  
A. Chwalibog ◽  
S. Henckel

1. Balance trials with respiration measurements were performed with twelve rats and twelve pigs given either low- or high-crude-fibre diets. There were six collection periods with the rats over a live-weight range of 86–264 g and three collection periods with the pigs over a live-weight range of 30–55 kg. Measurements were made on the influence of microbial activity in the digestive tract on digestibility and nitrogen and energy metabolism. Dietary inclusion of the antibiotic Nebacitin was the method used to reduce the microbial population.2. The microbial activity in the hind-gut (μmol ATP/g air-dry contents) of antibiotic-treated rats was reduced to approximately one-tenth of that of untreated rats.3. Live-weight gain was not significantly affected in either species by a reduction in the microbial activity, in spite of a reduction in dry matter digestibility in animals with reduced microflora.4. For rats on low-crude-fibre diets, a reduction in microflora reduced digestibility of all nutrients and energy and metabolizability of digestible energy by approximately 5·4%. All differences were highly significant. On high-crude-fibre diets the decrease was approximately 5·9%. In pigs on both crude fibre levels, the digestibility was also influenced by the level of microflora, but the pattern was somewhat different from that obtained with rats, with the Nebacitin treatment increasing the digestibility of N slightly, and the digestibility of fat markedly.5. Retained N in rats reached a maximum when the rats were approximately 60 d old and thereafter decreased with increasing age. However, for pigs daily N retention increased with age. The retained N:digested N value decreased linearly with age in the rats, but varied little with age over the range (104–146 d) studied in the pigs.6. The metabolizability of gross energy (metabolizable energy (ME): gross energy) was significantly reduced with an increase in crude fibre level and by the addition of Nebacitin.7. Retained energy (RE) in relation to ME (RE:ME), was not significantly affected either by level of microbial activity or by crude fibre.8. The ratio, RE as fat (RF):RE as protein (RP) increased as the animals grew. In the rat experiment there was a tendency for RP to be higher for animals with normal microflora than for animals with reduced microflora for both crude fibre levels.9. With rats, the regression analyses indicated that the energy requirement for maintenance could be influenced by both the level of microbial activity in the digestive tract and by the level of fibre in the diet. The net availability of ME for maintenance and growth by rats averaged 0·72 for all treatments.10. The net availability of ME for growth in the pigs averaged 0·65 for all treatments.


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