Effect of level of feeding a mixed ration of whole wheat grain and hay on the digestion of wheat grain by steers

The apparent digestibility of whole grain, proportion of grain voided in the faeces, retention time of whole grain and the rate of ingestion of the ration was measured for a mixed ration of 2/3 $whole wheat and 1/3 hay fed at 1 1/2 per cent and 3 per cent of mean liveweight to eight yearling steers in a cross-over design. Halving the level of intake of 3 per cent of the liveweight was accompanied by an increase in digestibility of grain dry matter from 53.8 to 68.3 per cent, a decrease in the proportion of grain voided from 31.6 to 19.6 per cent, a lengthening of the mean retention time from 31.9 to 52.3 hours and a reduction in the ingestion rate of the ration from 0.24 to 0.21 kg minute-1.

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Nutritional evaluation of wheat 1. Effects of preparation on digestibility of dry matter, energy and nitrogen in pigs

Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s0003356100022935 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 359-365 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

M. Ivan ◽

L. R. Giles ◽

A. R. Alimon ◽

D. J. Farrell

Keyword(s):

Dry Matter ◽

Nitrogen Retention ◽

Metabolizable Energy ◽

Apparent Digestibility ◽

Whole Grain ◽

Whole Wheat ◽

Gross Energy ◽

Dietary Components ◽

Matter Energy ◽

Plot Design

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.

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The utilization of ammonia-treated whole wheat grain by young steers

Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s0003356100001604 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 113-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Susan G. Low ◽

R. C. Kellaway

Keyword(s):

Dry Matter ◽

Nitrogen Retention ◽

Whole Grain ◽

Wheat Grain ◽

Neutral Detergent Fibre ◽

Dry Matter Digestibility ◽

Whole Wheat ◽

Partial Digestion ◽

C And N ◽

Lower Ratio

ABSTRACTWheat grain was given whole (W), cracked (C) or ammonia-treated (N) as the sole diet to six steers. In Expt 1, W, C and N were given at the rate of 2·1 kg per head per day. In Expt 2, W and N were given at the rate of 7·35 kg per head twice weekly; feeding of C had to be abandoned due to frequent bloat. Dry-matter digestibility was 0·79, 0·86 and 0·88 on W, C and N in Expt 1 and 0·75 and 0·83 on W and N in Expt 2.The digestibility of neutral detergent fibre was 0·37, 0·24 and 0·57 with diets W, C and N respectively in Expt 1 and 0·27 and 0·47 with diets W and N in Expt 2.The quantity of whole grain voided in faeces (g/kg grain fed) was 122, 3 and 31 with W, C and N in Expt 1 and 136 and 51 with W and N in Expt 2. Voided grains had a lower ratio of cr-glucose: neutral detergent fibre than grains fed, which indicated partial digestion of starch. Rates of nitrogen retention (g/day) were 6·6, 9·4 and 9·8 with W, C and N in Expt 1 and 7·2 and 12·2 with W and N in Expt 2.It was concluded that ammonia-treated whole wheat grain is utilized as efficiently as cracked wheat grain when given as a sole diet to cattle and results in fewer digestive disturbances than cracked wheat grain.

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The rate of passage of food through the alimentary tract of pigs

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859600040119 ◽

1956 ◽

Vol 47 (2) ◽

pp. 196-204 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Elizabeth J. Castle ◽

M. E. Castle

Keyword(s):

Retention Time ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Alimentary Tract ◽

Live Weight ◽

Matter Content ◽

Dry Matter Content ◽

Mean Retention Time ◽

A Value ◽

The Mean ◽

Fattening Pigs

A method for measuring the rate of passage of meal through the alimentary tract of pigs by feeding a stained marker is described. The results are given of sixty-four experiments made under standardized conditions on four fattening pigs with live weights ranging from 49·9 to 185·5 lb. and six experiments on a sow weighing 500 lb.Results were expressed by means of excretion curves. These were sigmoid in shape and from them a value termed R, the mean retention time (hr.) of all the stained particles in the alimentary tract, directly proportional to the area to the left of the curve, was calculated.In the fattening piga the first appearance of the marker in the faeces occurred 10–24 hr. after feeding, and the mean 5 and 95% excretion times were 21 and 53 hr. respectively. The marker was completely excreted after approximately 80–90 hr. The R value averaged 34·2 hr.A marker fed at the morning feed (9 a.m.) had earlier 5 and 95% excretion times and the R value was significantly smaller.There was no statistically significant relationship between the R values and live weight, digestibility of the dry matter of the ration or the dry-matter content of the faeces.In the sow the 5 and 95% excretion times were 38 and 68 hr. respectively, and the R value averaged 51·1 hr.Counts of stained particles in the intestines of two of the pigs after slaughter showed that food was delayed mainly in the large intestine.

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Rate of passage of digesta in sheep

British Journal Of Nutrition ◽

10.1079/bjn19730029 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 231-240 ◽

Cited By ~ 83

Author(s):

W. L. Grovum ◽

V. J. Williams

Keyword(s):

Food Intake ◽

Large Intestine ◽

Retention Time ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Mean Retention Time ◽

The Mean ◽

Sodium And Potassium

1. Three groups of sheep receiving 400, 800 and 1200 g lucerne chaff/d in equal hourly meals were killed. The large intestines were removed and divided into segments 15 cm long to provide information on the amounts and dry-matter contents of digesta and on the rates of passage of digesta and absorption of water along the large intestine.2. With increasing intakes of food, increases were observed along the entire large intestine in the amounts of wet digesta present, in the transit rates of digesta and in the rates of absorption of water. The mean retention time of digesta in the large intestine decreased with increasing food intake, being 1737, 1056 and 692 min respectively.3. Four patterns of sodium and potassium concentrations in digesta water along the large intestine were found.

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Further studies of the rate of passage of food through the alimentary tract of pigs

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859600034389 ◽

1957 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 106-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Elizabeth J. Castle ◽

M. E. Castle

Keyword(s):

Retention Time ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Inverse Relationship ◽

Alimentary Tract ◽

Matter Content ◽

Dry Matter Content ◽

Mean Retention Time ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Mean ◽

Sigmoid Shape

1. Four replicated experiments were made to determine the rate of passage of meal through the alimentary tract of pigs on different feeding treatments. In each experiment stained meal was used and the results were expressed by means of excretion curves. From these, mean retention times (R values) were calculated. All the curves were of a similar sigmoid shape.2. A significant inverse relationship was found between the mean retention time and the total weight (meal plus water) of the ration. This relationship was found when (a) the weight of meal was constant and the weight of water was varied, (b) the weight of water was constant and the weight of meal was varied, and (c) the total combined weight of meal and water (at the same ratio) was varied.3. The digestibility of the dry matter and crudec protein in Exps. 1–3 was not altered greatly as a result of the different feeding treatments.4. In Exp. 4, similar rates of passage were found in pigs fed on the two rations of widely different digestibilities.5. The dry-matter content of the faeces of the pigs was remarkably constant over a wide range of water and food intakes when using the same meal.

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The effect of indigestible particles on digestive transit time and colonic motility in dogs and pigs

British Journal Of Nutrition ◽

10.1079/bjn19850064 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 549-557 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Ch. Cherbut ◽

Y. Ruckebusch

Keyword(s):

Transit Time ◽

Retention Time ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Colonic Motility ◽

Basal Diet ◽

The Other ◽

Myoelectric Activity ◽

Mean Retention Time ◽

The Mean ◽

Spike Bursts

1. The myoelectric activity of the colon was examined in three dogs and three pigs when they were given a basal diet or a basal diet plus indigestible particles (IP), 2 mm in diameter, at 100 g/kg dry matter. The mean retention time was determined using coloured discs as a marker added to the daily meal.2. Colonic electromyograms of dogs and pigs given IP revealed a 30% reduction in the number of long spike bursts (LSB) when compared with controls. The other components, propulsive migrating spike bursts (MSB) or non-propulsive short spike bursts (SSB), were unchanged. Mean retention time was decreased from 28.6 h to 17.6 h in dogs and from 129 h to 94.2 h in pigs.3. These changes developed progressively during 3–4 d in both species, suggesting that the reduction in motor activity was an adaptation to the changes in bulk contents.4. From the decreased motility of the colon linked to the reduction of LSB and paralleled by an increased transit time, it was concluded that one of the functions of the LSB is to impede the passage of digesta.

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Effects of particle size on digestion of hay by sheep

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859600081776 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 109 (3) ◽

pp. 551-561 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

B. Fadlalla ◽

R. N. B. Kay ◽

E. D. Goodall

Keyword(s):

Particle Size ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Retention Time ◽

Terminal Ileum ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Degradation Rate ◽

Apparent Digestibility ◽

Mean Retention Time ◽

Rumen Ph ◽

Significant Difference

SummaryThe digestion and retention times of milled hay diets were first studied in three sheep fitted with rumen and abomasal cannulae. The hay was milled through 5, 20 or 40 mm screens. Solubility of dry matter (D.M.) in water and rate of loss of D.M. from hay in nylon bags suspended in the rumen increased with fineness of grinding. Apparent digestibility of D.M. within the gut tended to fall with fineness of grinding, as did mean retention time (MRT) of a particulate marker, [103Ru]phenanthroline ([103Ru]phen), within the gut and of [103Ru]phen and a liquid marker, [51Cr]EDTA, within the rumen. Dry-sieved abomasal particles were much smaller than particles of any of the hay preparations, most passing through a 0·6 mm screen.A second experiment was made on four other sheep, fitted with rumen cannulae and given a similar hay, chopped to 50 mm or milled through 2, 5 or 20 mm screens. Apparent digestibility of D.M. within the gut fell significantly with fineness of grinding, from 55% with the chopped hay to 46% with the 2 mm hay, as did MRT, from 45 to 40 h respectively. Rumen pH at 1 h after feeding decreased with fineness of grinding.In a third experiment, using the four sheep given chopped or 2 mm hay, retention times of particulate matter and of fluid in the reticulo-rumen and in the caecum-colon were measured. [103Ru]phen and [51Cr]EDTA were dosed together into either the rumen or the terminal ileum, and the rates of decline of marker concentration in rumen samples or faeces respectively were used to calculate the appropriate half times(t½). In the rumen particulate and fluid markers showed significantly shorter t½ values with the 2 mm hay (20·8 and 12·4 h, respectively) than with the chopped hay (25·9 and 15·6 h, respectively) without a significant difference in rumen outflow (0·437 and 0·492 l/h, respectively). In the caecum-colon the corresponding t½ values were 6·4 and 6·3 h, and 7·1 and 6·6 h, there being no significant difference either between markers or between diets.Samples of chopped hay and of 20, 5 and 2 mm hays were suspended in bags in the rumen of sheep given either chopped or 2 mm hay to eat. The fine hays lost D.M. more rapidly than the coarse hays but D.M. loss was slower when the sheep's diet was 2 mm hay that when it was chopped hay.It is concluded that three factors accounted for the effect of milling on digestibility: retention time in the reticulo-rumen, D.M. degradation rate in the rumen, and the potential digestibility of the hay preparation (asymptotic D.M. loss as measured in the rumen bag studies). It appeared that fine grinding reduced the digestibility of the hay because the effects of shortened MRT in reducing duration of digestion and of lowered rumen pH in depressing cellulolysis outweighed the effects of grinding in accelerating digestion and increasing potential digestibility within the rumen.

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Apparent digestibility, fecal particle size, and mean retention time of reduced lignin alfalfa hay fed to horses

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skab158 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Amanda M Grev ◽

Marcia R Hathaway ◽

Craig C Sheaffer ◽

M Scott Wells ◽

Amanda S Reiter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Particle Size ◽

Retention Time ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽

Apparent Digestibility ◽

Mean Retention Time ◽

Alfalfa Hay ◽

Dietary Treatments ◽

Collection Phase ◽

Fecal Collection

Abstract Reduced lignin alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) has the potential to provide a higher quality forage source for livestock by improving forage digestibility. This study was conducted to evaluate apparent digestibility when feeding reduced lignin and non-reduced lignin alfalfa hay to adult horses, and to examine mean fecal particle size (MFPS) and mean retention time (MRT) between alfalfa forage types. In 2017, reduced lignin (‘54HVX41’) and non-reduced lignin (‘WL355.RR’) alfalfa hay was harvested in Minnesota at the late-bud stage. Alfalfa hays were similar in crude protein (CP; 199 g kg -1), neutral detergent fiber (NDF; 433 g kg -1), and digestible energy (DE; 2.4 Mcal kg -1). Acid detergent lignin (ADL) concentrations were lower for reduced lignin alfalfa hay (74 g kg -1) compared to non-reduced lignin alfalfa hay (81 g kg -1). Dietary treatments were fed to six adult, stock-type horses in a crossover study. Experimental periods consisted of a 9-d dietary adaptation phase followed by a 5-d total fecal collection phase, during which horses were housed in individual boxstalls and manure was removed on a continuous 24-h basis. At 12-h intervals, feces were thoroughly mixed, subsampled in duplicate, and used for apparent digestibility and MFPS analysis. On day 2 of the fecal collection phase, horses were fed two indigestible markers, cobalt (Co) and ytterbium (Yb), which were fed as Co-EDTA and Yb-labelled NDF residue, respectively. Additional fecal samples were taken at 2-h intervals following marker dosing until 96-h post-dosing to evaluate digesta MRT. Data was analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS, with statistical significance set at P ≤ 0.05. Dietary treatment (i.e., alfalfa hay type) was included as a fixed effect, while experimental period and horse were considered random effects. Dietary treatments were similar in dry matter intake (DMI; 1.6% BW) and time to consumption (TTC; 7.6 h). Apparent dry matter digestibility (DMD) was greater for reduced lignin alfalfa (64.4%) compared to non-reduced lignin alfalfa (61.7%). Apparent CP and NDF digestibility did not differ between dietary treatments, averaging 78% and 45%, respectively. Dietary treatments were similar in MFPS (0.89 mm) and MRT for both liquid (23.7 h) and solid (27.4 h) phase material. These results indicate an improvement in DMD for reduced lignin alfalfa hay when fed to adult horses, with no change in forage consumption, fecal particle size, or digesta retention time.

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On the influence of diet on the retention time of food in the digestive tract of cows

Agricultural and Food Science ◽

10.23986/afsci.71535 ◽

1960 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 39-51

Author(s):

Aarne Mäkelä ◽

Liisa Liakka

Keyword(s):

Sugar Beet ◽

Digestive Tract ◽

Retention Time ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Sugar Beet Pulp ◽

Mean Retention Time ◽

Retarding Effect ◽

Beet Pulp ◽

The Mean ◽

Matter Basis

The retention times of dry matter and its constituents in the digestive tract of cows on hay+sugar beet pulp (5 cows) and cows fed on hay+swedes (8 cows) are compared with the retention times pertaining to cows fed on hay+concentrate or hay only. The following conclusions were reached; On a hay+sugar beet pulp diet the mean retention time of dry matter in the reticulo-rumen, and the retention times of lignin in the reticulo-rumen, in the whole digestive tract, and in the digestive tract following the reticulo-rumen are of the same magnitude as the corresponding retention times on a hay+concentrate diet (figs. 1, 2, 5, and 6). The mean retention time of membrane substances in the reticulo-rumen seems to be shorter and that of valuable N-free nutrients in the reticulo-rumen longer than the corresponding retention times on a hay+concentrate diet (figs. 3 and 4). On a hay+swede diet the mean retention times of dry matter and membrane substances in the reticulo-rumen are of the same magnitude as on a hay+concentrate diet (figs. 1 and 3). The mean retention time of valuable N-free nutrients in the reticulo-rumen and, in abundant feeding, the retention times of lignin in the reticulo-rumen, in the whole digestive tract, and especially in the digestive tract following the reticulo-rumen are shorter than on the hay+concentrate diet (figs. 2, 4, 5, and 6). On the hay+sugar beet pulp and the hay+swede diets the retention times are in general of the same magnitude. However, the retention time of membrane substances in the reticulo-rumen is shorter and that of the valuable N-free nutrients considerably longer on a hay+sugar beet pulp than on a hay+swede diet. Replacing a certain amount of hay by concentrates, sugar beet pulp or swedes on a dry matter basis seems to have no effect on the mean retention time of dry matter in the reticulo-rumen. However, a retarding effect on the rate of passage of typical hay constituents (lignin and membrane substances) and an accelerating effect on that of valuable N-free nutrients characteristic of concentrated foods was observed. The said replacing accelerates the rate of passage of lignin in the disgestive tract following the reticulo-rumen on a hay+swede diet.

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